Martin Luther And Lutheranism

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed a scroll known as the Ninety-five Theses onto the Catholic church. This list criticized many concepts of the Catholic church. For example, Martin Luther attacked the sale of indulgences, amount of power held by the Pope, and wealth of the church. Ultimately, the church was outraged and excommunicated Luther. This started a rebellion and a revolution. Luther’s goal was not to tear the church apart, but to try and reform the corrupt areas. “Luther did not intend to form a new religion; his struggle had been with Rome. Before he could build, he had to tear down- his religion was one of protest.” After being excommunicated, Luther created his own religion called Lutheranism. Lutheranism relates closely to the Catholic

Merchants, royalty, and lower clergy alike challenged it’s power. European princes envied the wealth, merchants loathed Church taxes, and clergy had minimal education and could barely read and teach. As stated earlier, Luther never meant to tear apart the Church; once others had read what he had to say, his idea and mission began to spread. All over modern day Germany, people began to deny the Pope’s power. Although the response to his ideas were welcomed by many common people, the upper class was not as accepting. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered that Luther be deprived of food and shelter - no one was to help him in any way, due to the fact that he would not recant his statements about the corrupt church. Luther went into hiding and was sheltered by Prince Frederick. While under Frederick’s protection, Luther translated the old testament into German. This allowed the common people to understand scripture and really learn it. This was the start to a new religion. Lutheranism would not have been able to develop if it had not been for the German princes. Their support caused others to join Luther’s movement. While being confined in Saxony, Luther published 30 works that sold thousands of copies, ultimately providing Luther with more followers. The creation of the printing press allowed for widespread growth, without these, Lutheranism would not have reached so many

When he declared Luther a heretic, any adoring Catholic saw Luther as an enemy as well. While Lutheranism spread, other denominations of Protestantism spread as well. Animosity between Catholics and Protestants continued to climb through the later 1500s. Countries began leaving the Catholic faith and converting to Protestantism. For example, England was one of the first countries dismiss Catholicism. In 1547, Henry VIII asked the Pope permission for a divorce, but was denied. So he decided that the Pope no longer had power in England. This created international chaos in Europe. Protestant countries began fighting Catholic countries. Religious sparring happened on foreign ground and at home. France experience problems between French Catholics and French Protestants, each one believing they were the dominate religion. Religious tolerance and intolerance arguments were fought within many countries. Those who wouldn’t convert to the monarchs religion of choice were