More handpicked essays just for you.
What are the effects of the Protestant Reformation
A term paper on the roots of Humanism
What are the effects of the Protestant Reformation
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
How the Rise of Humanism Influenced Society Imagine a citizen of Europe during the Middle Ages. Their life revolves around work and the Church. It is currently the era of the Renaissance and new ideas are arising every day. One day they hear ideas that go against their beliefs and the Church's. Everyday more and more people are supporting those facts. Before they know it the Protestant Reformation is occurring. This all happened because of something called the Humanist movement. The rise of humanism in the modern Middle Ages was the main cause of religious conflict due to people discovering new information that had to do with Church views which resulted in new interpretations of the Bible and the Protestant Reformation. Humanism was the rediscovering of ancient texts during the Middle Ages which caused a major development in society at the time."Humanists placed a renewed value on classical texts, not only those rediscovered in their …show more content…
own time (many of which they found themselves) but also those scholars had long known"(James). Since humanism occurred during the Renaissance era people were full of ideas and their ideas were not only accepted but encouraged by most. "The Renaissance produced an explosion of written works--translations of ancient texts, scholarly studies. biblical interpretations, histories..."(LibGuides). With these new sources of information about life conflict was bound to happen. But "Humanism has often been misrepresented: it was not a "revolution that made people abandon their faith"(James). Some people took the knowledge and just added it to what they believed, though Humanism did influence many people to change their beliefs. Surprisingly one of the main texts that caused an abandonment of faith was the Bible. The Bible was a major source of conflict among humanists and the public. With all pieces of literature up for scrutinization this,"...enabled Christian humanists to read the Bible with new-found accuracy and enthusiasm"(Wooding). Since the Bible had several languages used within it, it required a lot of room for interpretation as languages don't always have direct translations. When people started to translate it in the vernacular there were many parts that were interpreted differently, this lead to different religious opinions. Once translated to the vernacular, Christians started using the Bible as a main part in basic education."Christian humanism could manifest itself as the most basic level as little more than a style of writing, full of classical, biblical, and patristic allusions and quotations. Even a thorough humanist education could not be guaranteed to produce the same results: Mary I and Elizabeth I were both given the best humanist education of which English scholars were capable, and they were both exceptionally learned, but still had very different religious convictions"(Wooding). With this new found view on the Bible, religion was a large part of a Christian's education and became very common to use the Bible as a teaching tool. Many people wanted to spread the knowledge even further than just their friends and families and strived to change the whole religion instead. One of the results of this was the Protestant Reformation. Humanism was the biggest factor in the Protestant Reformation due to the introduction of new ideas about the Bible and realization that the Church wasn't perfect.
"The Reformation, despite its quick development along heretical and schismatic lines, was rooted in what was most profound in the humanist movement (Bouyer)." Humanism was the root cause of the Reformation because of the different ideas that came about because of it. There have been multiple instances in history where the introduction of new ideas has caused conflict among people and some,"objected to how the structure of the Church tended towards repression. They, too, decided that they would have access to a more authentic and appropriate Christianity by paying more attention to the words in the Bible than the traditions handed to them by religious authorities (Humanism and the Reformation History)." People were tired of being told what to do by the leaders of the Church and preferred to stick to the words of the Bible and to not blend their beliefs with worldly
views. The movement of the Middle Ages known as the humanist movement was an movement that resurfaced new texts. These texts, mainly the Bible were sifted through vigorously and new ideas were brought up in society and the Church. Many lives at the time revolved around the Church but over the years the Church had become corrupted with greed and false doctrine claiming to be right and true. Several humanists become engrossed with retranslating the Bible so more and more citizens could enjoy the knowledge within. People than realized that the Church wasn't completely truthful and started to protest. Erasmus even said, "I told parsons [clergymen] to leave their wranglings and read the Bible… I told popes and cardinals to look at the Apostles, and make themselves more like to them"(Desiderius). This led to the Protestant Reformation which in turn changed the lives of the people of Europe.
The church’s robust grip on religious expression shattered as medieval society transitioned into a period known as the Reformation. Characterized by the rejection of common ideology, the Reformation sparked religious curiosity. Reformers such as John Calvin and Martin Luther offered interpretations of the Bible in direct opposition to the Catholic Church’s teachings, forcing Europeans to examine and formulate their own beliefs. This style of thinking was foreign to European society because up to this point in history Europeans were passive absorbers of Catholic Church ideology. Hence, it was natural that an era considered the Age of Enlightenment followed the period of rejection and questioning known as the Reformation.
According to Nicholas Mann, "Humanism is that concern with the legacy of antiquity, and in particular but not exclusively with its literary legacy... it involves above all the rediscovery and study of Greek and Roman texts, the restoration and interpretation of them, and the assimilation of the ideas and values they contain." The Studia Humanitatis (Studies of Humanity) is a Latin term used by Roman writers describing a cycle of studies in the humanities including, grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy. Francesco Petrarch, an Italian scholar and poet of the fifteenth century, is considered by many to be the father of humanism. Petrarch 's influential texts had circulated widely throughout Florence and made their way into the government. Thus, humanist learning began to shape political ideologies in Florence. By inspiring humanist philosophy, Petrarch helped pave the way for the start of the Renaissance.
The reformation is generally associated with the publication of Martin Luther ninety five theses. It was his way to show the protest against the “business” made on religious people: the Holy Roman Empire was earning money on selling people indulgences. Martin Luther got the support of German princes, who were on the same side, but with different motives (they wanted to get autonomy). Luther was the great part of reformation, his influence was immediate, and people listened to him. One of the immediate effects of reformation can be observed in the development of that times writers. For example, Francois Rabelais satirized church, writing about their “business” in humorous way. The other writers, like Erasmus wrote more specifically about the pappy and their role in the lives of ordinary Christians. The major short term of reformation was about the informational acknowledgement, Luther told people the truth about the papacy and their actions, and the reaction of people was immediate: the loss of respect to church, papacy. These results were really strong, because people felt that, all the dogmas...
Humanism is a literary and linguistic movement cultivated during the Renaissance that was founded on revising classical Latin and Greek texts, styles, and values. Humanists encouraged looking to the past to discover what is good and how people should act including leaders. Many humanist wrote about how they believe a prince should act and what he should do to be successful in his rule. Most humanists believed that princes should be virtuous in order to be successful rulers as many ancient leaders were. However, Machiavelli in his work The Prince uses history as a part of his argument to undermine some humanist ideals such as being purely virtuous and morality being the key to good government but also uses it to promote humanist ideals such as looking to the past to discover how a leader should behave.
What happens when people start to break away from the entity that bound an entire civilization together for over a thousand years? How does one go from unparalleled devotion to God to the exploration of what man could do? From absolute acceptance to intense scrutiny? Sheeple to independent thinkers? Like all revolutions preceding it, the Protestant Reformation did not happen overnight. Catholics had begun to lose faith in the once infallible Church ever since the Great Schism, when there were two popes, each declaring that the other was the antichrist. Two things in particular can be identified as the final catalyst: a new philosophy and simple disgust. The expanding influence of humanism and the corruption of the Catholic Church led to the Protestant Reformation, which in turn launched the Catholic Reformation and religious warfare.
The Renaissance was a period of classical revival during the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. In that time period, the first forms of humanism were conceptualized by intellectuals. Humanism is defined as a progressive philosophy that emphasized the value of human beings and their ability to have potential and morals. This was a complete one-eighty turnaround in contrast to the middle ages, which emphasized the sin of man and the need for salvation. During the middle ages, the church had immense power and Europe was weakened by a series of wars and plagues, which promoted much pessimism within the era. By the 14th century, there was more room for social mobility which allowed a new generation
The idea of the ‘Reformation’ can be interpreted in many different ways, and what actually constitutes it can be debated. This essay will focus on the Reformation in the broad sense, taking ideas from the Lutheran, Calvinist and English Reformation. While it would appear obvious that the Reformation was trying to reform religion, this essay will make the argument that the Reformation was actually part of a wider movement, or change, across the whole of Europe which was not just trying to reform one particular thing, but was trying to reform, in general, the way in which people thought. It will argue that while the arrival of Humanism inspired a great ‘rebirth’ of classical culture (known as the Renaissance), it also extended its influence to
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not have survived if the problems were not fixed. Even though there were movements to stop Protestantism, the Catholic Reformation was more about self-reform within the Church than an opposition to the Protestant movement.
A religious revolution called the Reformation happened in the Western church in the sixteenth century. Martin Luther and John Calvin were its leaders. The Reformation was the source for establishing Protestantism, which is one of the three major branches of Christianity. The Reformation started to become more political than religious. Martin Luther, Henry VII, and John Calvin were some of the reformers. These people decided to challenge the Catholic Church and the way it could explain the Christian religion. The arguments over the power that was distributed to the Bible and its readings lead to wars, and later, the Counter- Reformation. The Counter- Reformation was created when the Church was a little slow to respond to the reformers such as Luther. The council of Trent then met to discuss some of the problems that the Reformation caused and Luther’s ideas along with the other reformers. The era of the Catholic Church that was with the Counter- Reformation grew to be more educated and spiritual. The effects of these two Reformations came with lasting political changes. The freedoms that were given religiously and politically lead to many rebellions and persecutions in
A central focus of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was an intellectual movement that claimed the heart of the Renaissance. Humanists studied the classical cultures of Greece and Rome. They used their newly acquired knowledge to develop a better understand of their own times. Humanists, although they were mostly Christian, did not focus of religion. Instead they were fixated on worldly subjects. It was believed that education should stimulate one’s creative mind. Humanists emphasized humanities, which are classic subjects such as grammar and poetry.
Humanism during the Renaissance era proved to be a very important aspect that helped mold the society into one that exhibited the combination of classical teachings and a more materialistic outlook on the world . Humanism during this era was a very important theme. Humanism, in the classic sense, is the formation of ideals that are focused more on real world aspects that stray from traditional church teachings and ideals. The Renaissance period, during the 15th century, experienced a paradigm shift in the classic sense where society began to focus more so on improving the societal experience, rather than focusing on church centered ideas. Renaissance humanism brought upon more materialistic concerns, such as wealth and power for its citizens.
Although saying this, the Reformation was not just on a Protestant level, it spread and soon became, not just a popular topic for discussion, but a wide-ranged divided religious change that affected every inch of society. This meant that people wanted their own version of change and reform, this lead to a variety of different reforms within this movement. The main bodies that evo... ... middle of paper ... ... the Reformation was ont really just a good thing, I think that it went a bit over the top with the violence, and the destruction of religious imagery by Puritans.
Humanism was the idea that the human was the center and was the only arbiter capable of determining truth and falsehood. This movement led to rejection of institutional authority and replaced with emphasis on individual capacity and reason. The ideal humanist and ultimately the purpose to strive was a holistic human being one capable of excellence in many fields in addition to functioning honorably in any type of situation. Renaissance humanism could trace its origins to ancient Greece. Greek literature, art and philosophy centered in on the human condition, and by extension the human body, especially through art.
Many diverse ideas flourished during the European Renaissance which had a lasting impact on the world. Humanism is a worldview and a moral philosophy that considers humans to be of primary importance. The aspect of humanism first thrived in 14th century Italy, and later spread north in the 15th century. Initially humanistic ideas about education were quickly adopted by the Italian upper class. The Italian ideas and attitudes towards life and learning impacted nobility in other parts of Europe. They were able to accept and adapt to this new lifestyle. Humanism during the Renaissance helped to spread ideas about the basic nature of human beings, how people should be educated to become well rounded individuals, and how education impacts an individual’s life.