Impact Of The Protestant Reformation On Society

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Impact of Protestant Reformation on European Government and Society

In 1517, Martin Luther initiated the Reformation with The Ninety Five Theses, which criticized the selling of indulgences within the Catholic Church. Luther also contended the Pope had no power over purgatory, and Catholic saints had no basis in the gospel. His criticisms also included many other Catholic doctrines and practices. The uproar the Reformation caused had a lasting impact on European government and society. When the Catholic Church viewed Martin Luther a “protestant,” Europeans divided. Subsequent reformers challenged Luther, resulting in further division.
The Protestant Reformation changed both the social and government order. Before the Reformation, Europe …show more content…

The Protestants didn’t have monasteries, convents, or a belief in the Catholic saints; they pursued morals at home. This included reading the bible themselves, unlike the early Catholic Church, which was read by the priests. These practices spread, and the Catholics eventually incorporated their ideas. Luther’s translations of the Old and New Testaments from Latin to German became an authority. He made his version of the bible more accessible to the people. This led to success for the Protestants. As a counter, German versions of the Catholic bible were read by the lay people, which was a significant change from the medieval practices. Because of this discipline, there was prosperity for some, and inflation for many. Both the Catholics and Protestants saw those impacted by inflation as “vagabonds,” and considered them as lazy and possibly criminal. With this, the Protestant courts appointed officials to head agencies that would distribute welfare to these poor. Catholics soon followed. In 1531, Henry VIII licensed the poor to differentiate them from those who were unable to work. With this decree, Charles V, in 1540, imposed a welfare tax to augment the private charities in …show more content…

This sparked the counter-reformation. The Catholic Leaders wanted to revive religious piety and disallow clergy to marry. These new orders were intended to reconvert Catholics who had become Protestant. With this, they gave greater power to the Inquisition, and ability to ban certain books. This was established in 1557, and not abolished until 1966 with Vatican II. The central doctrines of Protestantism were condemned by The Council of Trent. With this, the schism between Protestant and Catholics remained

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