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Examine the Reformation of England
The rise of puritans
Discuss puritanism
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Recommended: Examine the Reformation of England
Examples of challengers came early to the authority of the Catholic Church prior to Martin Luther posting his 95 propositional doctrinal dissertations on the belfry doors in Wittenburg. Many years later, the challenge of Luther’s to church doctrine inspired with confidence other reformers such as John Calvin. With the doctrinal spread of Calvin’s from Geneva, Switzerland to the British Isles. The British Isles is now known as the English Reformation, King Henry VIII epicenter of dynastic concern. One of the major effects of the Reformation is the lessening influence of Catholic Church. That the church authority was to be less involved in matters of state. This could be evidently seen as Henry VIII proceeded to break free from all papal authority and establish the independent Church of England. We could …show more content…
William Tyndale, Martin Luther and, among others, translated the Scriptures into languages that reflect the vernacular of those living in Germany and England. The Reformation often led to the Protestant opposition to the established throne and the Catholic church. Those politically opposed allied with the religious dissenters known as the Huguenots. The action led to civil war throughout all of France. The new Church of England pushed through tumultuous times as the offshoot of Henry VIII struggled for control of the throne. In Ireland, the English ruling class adopted the Church of England while the Irish people remained predominantly Roman Catholic. The northern states were mostly Lutheran while the southern states generally remain Roman Catholic. Protestant Reformation as well, as a result, was driven in part by the desire to convert the indigenous to the Catholic or Protestant faith; with colonies in North America representing the full spectrum of Christendom. Puritans, Quakers, Catholics, and Anglicans all inhabited various portions of the thirteen
New England was north of the Chesapeake, and included Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Haven (which soon became part of Connecticut). The New Englanders were largely Puritan Separatists, who sought religious freedom. When the Church of England separated from Catholicism under Henry VIII, Protestantism flourished in England. Some Protestants, however, wanted complete separation from Catholicism and embraced Calvinism. These "Separatists" as they were called, along with persecuted Catholics who had not joined the Church of England, came to New England in hopes of finding this religious freedom where they would be free to practice as they wished. Their motives were, thus, religious in nature, not economic. In fact, New England settlers reproduced much of England's economy, with only minor variations. They did not invest largely in staple crops, instead, relied on artisan-industries like carpentry, shipbuilding, and printing.
The Church in England's Need for Considerable Reform in 1529 Many historians argue, that it is not true to say, that before the Reformation England was a land shrouded in the mists of ignorance; that there were no schools or colleges for imparting secular education till the days of Edward VI.; that there was no real religion among the masses, apart from practices such as pilgrimages, indulgences, and invocation of the saints; that the people were up in arms against the exactions and privileges of the clergy, and that all parties only awaited the advent of a strong leader to throw off the yoke of Rome. But there were a number of problems, which need to be considered. Many historians have argued that the people of the early 16th century agreed with Henry in his decision, to break with Rome because the church in England was a deeply unpopular institution. Anti-clericalism according to this line of argument was widespread.
During the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation transformed Europe from a nation previously united by a singular Christian faith into one divided by conflicting religious beliefs and practices. Martin Luther, a German monk and theologian, played a significant role in the onset of this reform movement. In 1517, Luther wrote the Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, more commonly referred to as the Ninety-Five Theses, which called for a scholarly debate on various church practices, particularly the sale of indulgences to absolve human sin. Contrary to the church’s teaching, Luther asserted that people obtained salvation by faith, not through works or deeds, such as purchasing indulgences. Although Luther did not intend his work to be a program for reform, its widespread publication created public upheaval about the corruption within the church and thus threatened the power of the Pope. Therefore, the Ninety-Five Theses served as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation because it sparked a theological conflict between Martin Luther and the papal authority, which eventually resulted in Luther breaking away from the Roman Catholic church and forming a new sect of Christianity.
The Roman Catholic Church greatly influenced the lives of many people during the medieval times. At the head of the Roman Catholic Church was the pope. Followers believed that the pope was the representative of Jesus on earth. The spiritual classes below the pope were the cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops, and finally the local priests. This was a very efficient system where each class ruled, and directed each class below them. Peasants, of course, were all the way at the bottom of the social class system, but took up 95% of the population. Their lives were very closely tied to their local churches. The main responsibility of the Roman Catholic Church was to serve the spiritual needs of medieval society, and to get people to heaven. This slowly started to change as soon as the Church turned to their corrupt ways to control the people. The Church owned everything from land, to even peoples souls! Going against the Roman Catholic Church was absolutely unacceptable. Not only would you be
Thesis statement: Martin Luther was responsible for the break-up of the Catholic Church Martin Luther was a representative during the 16th century of a desire widespread of the renewal and reform of the Catholic Church. He launched the Protestant reform a continuation of the medieval religious search. From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices.
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.
During the Renaissance, Catholicism was the main religion of Europe and the church was the main authority. As the rebirth continued, the population started being smarter and finding out information for themselves. Martin Luther, a protestant, spoke out against the Catholic Church for its abuses by pinning up the 95 these to prove his point of sola scriptura and faith alone. Therefore, the Protestant Reformation began in Europe, which made the Catholic Church very powerless and led to the Catholic Reformation. Although Luther had strong points about breaking away from the Catholic Church, the church had mostly a success to bring back Catholicism due to the reform and using Jesuits to spread the Catholic religion around the world.
Throughout the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation largely occurred across Europe. A portion of those who believed Catholicism was corrupt went on to create the Church of England (Anglican Church). This halted the majority of British exploration and settlement until later in that century. Many people then began defying the Anglican Church for Puritans believed it needed to be purified of the excess of Catholic traditions it held, while Separatists wanted to separate from the Church of England because they thought it was beyond hope. This caused the majority of the European continent to delay its exploration and settlement with the exception of Spain. This lead to many colonies, included the infamous, yet unsuccessful Roanoke Island Colony
There are so many causes from the Protestant Reformation. In the Protestant, there was three different sections that got affected more the the others. When the Protestant Reformation happened it affected the Sociality, Political, and Economic the most.
One of the reasons why people left England was for religious freedom. The King of England had changed England’s religion to Anglican. Therefore, the people were forced to be Anglican. Many people did not want to change their religion, so they headed for America, hoping that they could have religious freedom. Once over in America, people took control. In the New England Colonies, the religion was primarily Puritan. The Puritans were a religious group with a lot power in the Massachusetts Bay colony. However, some people did not like how the governor, John Winthrop, and other officials had so much power. So a Puritan named Thomas Hooker took 100 other Puritans and moved to Connecticut where they set up the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. This limited the governor’s power and let all men who were property owners vote. Quakers and Catholic settled in the Middle Colonies. Quakers were Protestant reformers who settled in Pennsylvania. A man named William Penn had an idea of a “holy experiment.” He wanted it to be a model of peace and religious freedom for Christian living. Religion was not as important in the Middle Colonies as in the other regions. In the Southern Colonies, a man named Lord Baltimore set up the colony of Maryland. He believed that Catholics could practice their religion freely. The Act of Toleration was later created that stated that all Christian...
During the Age of Reformation people were greatly against the abuses that existed in the Roman Catholic Church. A couple of abuses that were greatly stressed were the selling of indulgences, simony, and nepotism. It was some of these same abuses that prompted German reformist Martin Luther to write his 95 Theses. And for the Council of Trent to later address them in a series of meetings.
Other groups, such as the Dutch and Germans, were never a part of the British nation at all. These separations proved to be a source of apathy to the English crown, becoming a catalyst for rebellion. With the influx of new and diverse populations, a range of religions prospered. Religions such as the Puritans, Pilgrims, Quakers, Catholics, and Jews, who had faced persecution from their respective governments came to the colonies to seek religious toleration. Some colonies, such as Pennsylvania and Rhode Island offered total religious freedom, while colonies like Maryland allowed religious toleration for all those who believed in the divinity of Jesus.
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.
Martin Luther’s (1483-1546) actions and teachings have had a profound influence on Christian faith. His crucial decision to go on a pilgrimage to Rome (1510) enabled him to witness and act against the objectionable corruption of the Catholic Church. Luther’s teachings developed through his work at Wittenburg University where his revolutionary theology evolved from the examination of the New Testament. On 31 October 1517 Martin Luther posted the controversial 95 Thesis, condemning the corruption of the Church and sharing his beliefs and ideas such as the 5 solas. Luther started a religious revolution that resulted in the formation of a new variant of Christianity that had changes to the expression of faith and key beliefs. This Protestant Church
Though there was no driving force like Luther, Zwingli or Calvin during the English Reformation, it succeeded because certain people strived for political power and not exactly for religious freedom. People like Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII brought the Reformation in England much success, however their reasons were based on self-gain and desire for political power.