The Protestant Reformation Argumentative Paper
The Protestant Reformation succeeded in changing the religious and social development throughout Europe in the six-tenth century. However, changing the religious and social developments was not Martin Luther’s main goal. His goal was to only reform the Catholic Church. Even though there are competing views, the Reformation succeeded because it changed the Catholic Church is run. The Reformation also led to the birth of new religions. Another reason the Protestant Reformation changed social developments was because it opened the doors for the lower class people.
The Protestant Reformation led to multiple changes within the Catholic Church. There is the argument that the Catholic Church didn’t
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change in the way Martin Luther was hoping, but the church did change in many other ways, which transformed social and religious developments.
One very important change within the Catholic Church was the abolishment of the selling of indulgences. Martin Luther believed that people did not have to pay the church to ask for the forgiveness of sins. He made his point very prominent in his ninety-five theses. Thesis number twenty-one examines this idea, “Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope’s indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved ;”( Luther). Even though the Catholic Church believed that the selling of indulgences was a just act, they lost many people to other religions, like Protestant. The Church got rid of the indulgences, hoping that they would be able to get more people back to the Catholic Church. (Robert). The Church then went on to say that God’s grace and forgiveness was the most important factor in salvation, but a human has …show more content…
some responsibility for their salvation. The Protestant Reformation also brought about the change of keeping strong faith. To strengthen the Catholic Churches identity they renewed their interest in its traditions, especially the traditions the Protestants did not share. The Catholic Church also began to commission religious artwork. Meanwhile, Catholic scholars began a movement that combined ancient philosophy with Christian teachings. Another big change in the Catholic Church was the regaining popularity of the devotion to saints, as well as, making journeys to sacred places ("Catholic Reformation and Counter-"). Many new religions were established during the Protestant Reformation.
Some people believe that the birth of new religions did not succeed because the disputes in the religions led to many wars over long periods of time. The most famous of this time was the Thirty Years’ War in Germany. Though this is true, the rise of new religions, also, gave people the opportunity to believe in something different. Some of the most important religions of this time, other than Catholicism, were Lutheranism, Anglican, and Calvinist. All of these religions branched off of the Protestant religion. These religions gave people a new way of thinking. The Catholic Church taught its followers that only Priest can interpret the Bible and teachings of the church, but the new religions told their followers that believers can interpret the Bible for themselves. The new religions also stated that the Bible is the only source of truth. Unlike the Lutheran, Anglican, and Calvinist religions the Catholic Church stated that the Bible and the Church traditions are both sources of truths. These and many other differences in teachings of religion made people question what they really believed in. Many people who had conformed to another religion would then begin to branch off from that religion and establish another new religion. These new religions absolutely changed religious as well as social development throughout Europe
(Stone). The opening of opportunities for the lower class people from the sixteenth century dramatically changed social developments. Some may argue that the poor didn’t have many new opportunities during this time because most poor worked as servants of farm laborers. Evan though this is true the Protestant Reformation also brought a “… general level of education and literacy… more people spent time alone reading and studying.”(“Daily Life”). The new invention of the printing press began to print books at a much faster pace and also made the book widely available to the public lower class, since the books were priced much lower. The Catholic Church began to give boys from poor families the opportunity to become a priest, lawyers for religious courts, and secretaries (“Professions.”). The upper class people also helped the lower class by taking the lower-status children on as a godchild, or even acting as guardians of orphaned children (“Bourgeoisie.”). Even though changing the religious and social developments was not Martin Luther’s main goal, the Protestant Reformation succeeded in changing those developments throughout Europe in the sixteenth century. The Reformation succeeded because of the way the Catholic Church changes, the birth of new religions, and the opportunities the lower class was granted.
The practice of selling indulgences became under attack from a monk named Martin Luther in the early 1500’s. Indulgences were used as a means by many church officials to add to their wealth and prestige. By buying an indulgence, one was released for all sin and acceptance into Heaven guaranteed. Luther argued that no one needed to buy admission into Heaven. He believed that people could obtain salvation thru their faith and actions alone. The authority of the Pope was also challenged by Luther believing that religious matters needed to be resolved through the words of the Bible and not an individual’s decision. All of this was set down in Luther’s 95 Thesis that he posted on the Church door in Wittenberg, Germany ("The Reformation Video").
Social and economic stresses of The Protestant Reformation age were just among few of the things that impacted the ordinary population of Europe. The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, and cultural disorder that divided Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the ordinary population. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. In 1555 The Peace of Augsburg allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany; and in 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The key ideas of the Reformation, a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, should be the sole source of spiritual authority. However, Luther and the other reformers became the first to skillfully use the power of the printing press to give their ideas a wide audience.
The Protestant Reformation was a period of time (1500-1700) where there became a change in Western Christendom. This reformation was caused by the resentment from the people because the Catholic Church abusing their powers for political and economic advances. In this time the church was selling pardons for sin and indulgences to forgive sins, decrease days spent in purgatory and save the dead from damnation. The reformation was when people became more aware with the back hand dealings with the church and men like Martin Luther and John Calvin created their own churches to what they believed was not corrupt unlike the church. Unfortunately there many consequences as far at the Roman Catholic church attempting to bring people back to the church,
Martin Luther was not fond of the practices the Roman Catholic church of indulgences. Indulgences are a practice where worshippers would pay their priest which granted remission for their sins (“Indulgences."). This practice became increasingly corrupt. In the 95 Theses, Luther, became prominent in the Protestant Reformation due to its humble and academic tone (A&E Television Networks, LLC.). For example, in the second theses he states, “The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.” This means that only god can give salvation, not a priest. He is questioning why we must pay to re...
The protestant reformation of 16th century had both: immediate and long term effects. Thus, we can see that it was a revolution of understanding the essence of religion, and of what God is. The protestant reformation is said to a religious movement. However, it also influenced the economical, political and social life of people. The most global, short term effect of the reformation was the reevaluation of beliefs, and, as a result, the loss of authority of the Holy Roman Empire. The long term effects were: the emergence of new heretical movements, the declining of papacy, thus the reevaluation of people’s view on the church and life values.
Martin Luther’s view on indulgences appears in many of his writings including Luther’s 95 Theses and The Statement of Grievances. Martin Luther believes that the Papacy should not have a role in collecting taxes, indulgences, or any ways of drawing income from the German nation. On number twenty-three in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther states “The brotherhoods, and for that matter, indulgences, letters of indulgences, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end”. Martin Luther wants the German nation to get rid of indulgences since the indulgence sellings can harm the integrity of the church. Indulgences were not new to the German nation during the 16th century. Indulgences have been around for three centuries prior to 1520 even before Martin Luther’s Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was published. With indulgences, the German nation pays for their sins to be forgiven. The church makes most of its profits from the public by selling these indulgences. In Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformation, Carter Lindberg states “An indulgence, then, drew on the treasure of the church to pay off the debt of the penitent sinner who would otherwise be obligated to pay off the penance by works of satisfaction either in life or in purgatory”. For example, in
To construct Saint Peters Basilica, Archbishop Albert borrowed money from the Fuggers (wealthy banking family). To pay for this loan Pope Leo X gave permission to Archbishop Albert to sell indulgences in Germany. An indulgence is a way to reconcile with God, by confessing your sins to a priest and perform a penance. By the later Middle Ages people believed that indulgence removed all their sins and ensured entry to heaven. The selling of indulgence troubled Luther, he thought people were ignorant to believe that they didn’t have to repent after they bought an indulgence.
The Protestant Reformation began in the early 16th century, and was a religious, political, and cultural movement to expose the corruption of the Catholic Church. It all began in Germany with Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. Luther didn’t like some of the things that the Catholic Church was doing, such as selling indulgences, and being the middlemen between God and the people. Therefore, Luther posted his 95 Theses, which were tweaks to the way the church operated. Luther never wanted or expected it to become a major religious revolution against the church, rather he simply wanted the church to make the changes. Regardless of Luther’s intentions, the Protestant Reformation had significant short-term and long-term causes and consequences for western civilization.
All of Europe used to be united under one religion, Catholicism. Europe started inching away from Catholicism during the 13th - 15th centuries. The church leaders started to only think about money and the power they held, instead of the real reason they were supposed to be there, God. This caused an uprising of people who no longer wanted to be a part of the Catholic church, nicknamed Protestants because they protested the ways of the catholic church. The Protestant Reformation was caused by corruption in the church, Martin Luther and John Calvin’s ideas, and the clergy and their preachings.
The Protestant Reformation, also known as the Reformation, was the 16th-century religious, governmental, scholarly and cultural upheaval that disintegrated Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era (Staff, 2009). The Catholic Church begun to dominate local law and practice almost everywhere starting in the late fourteenth century. The Catholic Church held a tight hold on the daily lives of the people invading just about every part of it. Some people of this time would decide to stand up to the church and attempt to change the way it operated and make it release some of its control. These people who spoke out against the church came to be known as Protestants. The Protestants
In a conclusion, The Protestant Reformation effected the Sociality, Political, and Economic in Europe with woman, men, and children. This took place in the 17th and 18 centuries so be aware of what happened to them and be aware of what could've happened if it was different. Finally, with the conclusion you now know what happened to the Sociality, Political, and Economic with the cause of Protestant
Having a religion change, many times, takes a toll on those who follow. This would include the hardships of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation. Religious tensions were spreading throughout Europe, starting from the Protestant Reformation. Some of those who followed the Catholic church began to question how much was true and how many lies they were told to believe in. Many important Leaders of the Reformation stated their opinions about that Catholic church. These opinions would then be evaluated in the Catholic Reformation, The Council of Trent. Beliefs would be revised and practices would be evaluated. The core beliefs would still be Catholic, thus still different from a protestant beliefs. This led to officials of states
A reformation is often defined as the action of change for improvement. The Protestant Reformation is a movement that began in 1517, which split the unity of the Western Church; and later established Protestantism. The three main factors that impacted the reformation were political, sociological and theological. Martin Luther and John Calvin, two protestant Reformers who reformed Catholicism, strived to define salvation and impact the church as a whole. How do Martin Luther’s reforms compare to John Calvin’s through their struggle to define salvation, how people viewed them, and how the church was affected as a whole? Martin Luther and John Calvin both had a huge impact on the reformation and were both regarded with great respect; however, Martin Luther’s strive for salvation and the reformation of the church was more successful than Calvin’s.
In 1517, when reformist Martin Luther wrote an indictment of the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church called the 95 Theses, he appealed to many people across Europe. In his indictment he greatly criticized and addressed the selling of indulgences above all. At first, a person would have to do “work of satisfaction” like fasting, prayer, almsgiving, retreats and pilgrimages in return for an indulgence. But when the empire was in need of money to fight off the Ottoman Empire and rebuild St. Peter’s in Rome, the pope allowed indulgences to be sold for money where he would receive half the proceeds and the other half would go to funding. This is when Luther was even more angered by the selling of indulgences since he already believed that salvation could not be obtained by man’s own effort, but more the fact that man would be saved only if God willed it. It was that event that prompted the German monk to post his ideas and beliefs as the 95 Theses and address the abuse of selling indulgences in it.
The Roman Catholic Church dominated religion for many years in Europe and became an extremely powerful institution. Over the years, the Roman church became corrupt and immoral in many ways. The development of the Protestant Reformation, Lutheranism, was greatly influenced by political events in the years proceeding the 16th century. The declared aim of the original reformer, Martin Luther, was to restore the Christian faith as it had been at its formation, while salvaging what he considered valuable from the Roman Catholic tradition that had developed during the previous centuries. Luther broke the unity of the Catholic Church forever by exposing their faults and misguided notions. Lutheranism spread quickly due to the availability of the Christian Faith, as well as the close relationship between religion and the state.