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The reformation and the middle ages
The reformation and the middle ages
The reformation and the middle ages
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During the Reformation period, religion became the major conflict of Europe. Protestantism began and caused difficulties for Catholics. Martin Luther was the one to commence the Protestant Reformation with his 95 Theses. This reformation caused a drastic split in many territories including the Holy Roman Empire. Catholics were offended and furious that this new religious movement was ruining them, so they decided to defend what they believed in. The Roman Catholic faith was defended by establishing doctrinal changes in the Church, behaving unfairly and starting wars with those who were not Catholic, and with the help of Catholic women, like St. Teresa of Avila, who demonstrated the significance of their religion. Instead of Pope Paul III establishing new doctrines, he decided to make changes to the ones that were already existing. The signing of the Council of Trent helped the Church affirm the validity of Catholicism. The scripture, 7 sacraments, and the writings …show more content…
and traditions of the Church all gained their validity. Changes included the decreasement of selling church offices and indulgences. Besides making changes, they also made the Protestants seem “disloyal to the state.” There were periods of times in which the Holy Roman Empire allowed for their people to practice both Catholicism and Protestantism, but those who practiced Protestantism had to do it in a secretive manner.
This inequality led to many years of occurring wars: the longest being the Thirty Years’ War. The Peace of Augsburg was one of the starters of the war. This “peace” was initially signed to allow people to freely choose if they wanted to be Catholic or Protestant. It solved some problems for a period of time, but did not completely end the conflict of religion. The war was not mainly about religion, but it was started because of religious conflicts. The main “want” of this war for countries, besides religion, was territories. They all wanted more land. The war finally ended in 1648, but it did not end conflicts. Wars were very important during this period of time. Women were not, but they still made a huge impact on Catholicism, so they, to the Catholics at least, should be considered as
important. Teresa of Avila and Angela Merici were two of the many women that helped Catholicism by educating and preaching. The “Ursuline of Order of Nuns” was an institute established by Angela Merici. This institute prepared women to be trained both on education and religion. St. Teresa of Avila, now known as Mother Teresa, led a movement of reformation. Although she was Catholic, she taught that you do not need to be extremely religious to be able to relation with God. She believed that anyone that contemplates and prays is able to build a “relationship with God.” These women believed in their faith and defended it by helping other women learn the importance of being close to God. The Catholic Church was completely successful in defending their faith because they did it with pride, but they were not able to get “rid” of Protestantism. During the Renaissance, conflicts were caused because of the “crown.” Mostly all of the conflicts during the Reformation were caused because of religious differences. Also during the Renaissance, Catholicism was perhaps the only and most important religion of Europe, but that changed in the Reformation period when Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anabaptist, etc.. were founded and took the “spotlight” off Catholicism. Even though new religions came, Catholicism is still an important and practiced religion in Europe and other places of the world.
Martin Luther is known to be a key initiator to the Protestant Reformation, although he had no intention of doing so. He was going to become a monk, so he read deeply into scriptures, but this only led him to discover inconsistencies between traditions and the Bible. These inconsistencies lead him to demand changes in the Catholic Church; however that did not include
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.
This caused a lot of deaths during the Reformation period because the Catholic church decided to prosecute people for following and listening to what Luther had taught them about the real Catholic Teachings. The Council of Trent was a way to stop the teachings of Catholic traditions and state clearly the renewal of the Catholic life. The work of the council was concerned with the organisation of the Church. A seminary was going to be set up for the education of priests in each diocese. During the reformation a Catechism which is a clear summary of Catholic beliefs was set out to help reform the order of Mass throughout the Catholic world which priests then helped educate and teach this understanding to Catholics. Indulgence selling was abolished which means that it was no longer a way for the Church to scavenge money and the infamous Inquisition was
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,
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.
The period immediately following the Protestant reformation and the Catholic counter reformation, was full of conflict and war. The entire continent of Europe and all of it's classes of society were affected by the destruction and flaring tempers of the period. In the Netherlands, the Protestants and the Catholics were at eachother’s throats. In France it was the Guise family versus the Bourbons. In Bohemia, the religious and political structures caused total havoc for over thirty years; and in England, the Presbyterians thought that the English Anglican Church too closely resembled the Roman Catholic Church. Religion was the major cause of the widespread turmoil that took place throughout Europe between 1560 and 1660.
While numerous theological issues had been brewing for some time, the Reformation was officially began in 1517 by a man named Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a professor of biblical theology who had several issues with the Catholic Church. His complaints or disputes with the Catholic Church are known as his 95 Theses. In his 95 Theses, Martin Luther argued that God offers salvation through faith alone and that religious authority comes from the Bible alone which posed a challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church. After sparking the Reformation, Martin Luther made it his goal to incorporate the church congregation in the praise and worship part of church service. A detrimental and vital aspect of Christianity, Martin Luther believed this needed to be done. Along with his followers, Martin Luther made continuous...
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.
attempts to do so. It created social change in Europe but did not reform the Church, which was its
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
with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
Following the Protestant Reformation, a time of upheaval towards to practices of the Catholic Church, arouse a counter-reformation to the Protestants, known as the Catholic Reformation. As a result of growing uprisings against the Church’s corrupt ways, the Church was suffering from many problems and leadership issues. To put an end to these numerous complications, Pope Paul III called a council, held in the city of Trent. During the Council of Trent, some principal decisions and changes that were addressed involve the selling of indulgences, the teachings of the Catholic Faith, and dealing with the growing reformers.
The Protestant Reformation broke out after the Renaissance in the free imperial cities of Germany and Switzerland. The Reformation involved the separation of the Roman Catholic Church, which was initiated by Martin Luther. Protestant reformers like, John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli, continued the schism from the Church. Although there had been earlier attempt to reform the church, Luther was the one to start the Reformation with his work, The Ninety-Five Theses, criticizing the sale of indulgences. Undoubtedly, the religious schism during the sixteenth century occurred because of the political, social, and economical problems.
Martin Luther a German theologian and religious reformer was the founding figure of the protestant reformation, the break from the Catholic Church, which in many ways marks the beginning of modern Europe. A well-expressed preacher and huge writer, Luther attacked many abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the papacy. The source of his spiritual revelation was not political or institutional but came from his inner fight of conscience. Like other people of his day, Luther was horrified that god would in the end reject him for his sins. He found a word in the bible called “Law” which increased his terror, but he also discovered a word god called “Gospel,” the good news and promise of mercy in Christ, which shed all of his worries. By his words and actions, Luther caused an action that reformulated certain rudimentary Christian belief and the division of Western Church between Roman Catholics and the Protestant traditions. He is one of the most influential person in the history of Christianity.