The Protestant Reformation And The Counter-Reformation

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The 16th century was a time of social, political, and religious change in Europe. The Protestant Reformation was a major European movement initially aimed at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; later, it reformed the political and social aspects of Europe as well. The Counter-Reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation, had the intention of eliminating abuses within the Church and counteracting the Protestant Reformation. While the Protestant Reformation hoped to change the practices of the Church, the Catholic Reformation hoped to reform the abuses that the Church practiced rather than the beliefs and practices of the Church. But, what is reform and which “reformation” was truly a reformation? …show more content…

Erasmus’ simpler translation of the Bible became the basis for which Martin Luther translated the Bible into German because he believed that the people needed to read the Scripture for themselves rather than depend upon a clergyman to interpret it for them. The Counter-Reformation did not bring social change to Europe or the Church, for the most part, the Church upheld all of their views. Davies wrote in Europe: A History, “It [The Council of Trent] confirmed that the Church alone could interpret the Scriptures, and that religious truth derived from Catholic traditions as well as from the Bible” (Davies 497). Although the Protestant Reformation brought about many changes, it did not reform the Church despite many attempts to do so. It created social change in Europe but did not reform the Church, which was its original goal. Neither the Protestant Reformation nor the Counter-Reformation improved the Church, but the Protestant Reformation did improve the social structure of Europe. The Protestant Reformation reformed the political system in many ways and in different …show more content…

Germany, where the Reformation began, was part of the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Emperor considered it his mandate to protect the Roman Catholic Church and ensure its supremacy. Davies wrote, “…Luther called on the German princes to overthrow the papacy in Germany and establish a reformed German church” (Davies 373). Many princes; however, motivated by the politics and the thought of being in power separated from the Holy Roman

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