Protestant Reformation Dbq

The Protestant Reformation was one of the biggest movement in Europe that occurred in the sixteenth century which aimed at revolting at a wide scale against the torture and barbaric control of the Roman Catholic Church. In the Northern and central regions of Europe, people were devoted to bringing reforms in politics and the society. Among these people were Martin Luther, Henry the Eighth, and John Calvin. This was the time when Martin Luther (a German Augustinian monk) presented his ‘ninety-five Thesis’ on October 31 of 1517 at the Wittenberg Church. These 95-thesis served as an invitation to people to express their ideas on the matters at hand. These people challenged the authorities of Catholic Churches. People involved in the movement wanted to extend their hold at the cost of the Church. This movement spread like wildfire. Along with Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia,

Scotland, and France also started taking an interest in the movement.

In 1521, Martin Luther was called before the Imperial Diet of the Roman Empire where he was removed from the communion. In the presence of the elector of Saxony known as Friedrich, Martin recited the Bible in German. He was able to inspire many German peasants, which joined forces with him, and tremendously helped him with the revolt. Luther urged that people should follow the Bible, instead of following the pope. At the end of this revolt, Lutherism had become a state religion, accepted in many states of Germany.
The main purpose of Martin Luther to write his thesis was to protest against the selling of indulgences. On the other hand, the Romans full heartedly supported the selling of indulgences, as they considered this as a way to raise

money. Martin then sent a copy of his theses to Albert. Albert who belonged to Mainz then sent that copy to a person named Pope Leo. Martin Luther kept on writing regarding the issues he was constantly facing. He wrote: “Selling indulgences to finance the building of St. Peter’s is wrong” in one of his main points out of the 95. The point he made with this one was that the Romans were squeezing money from them to build their own walls and bridges. Martin also preferred people to visit temples instead of churches. He also included that the Germans, including him, will not be visiting the St. Peter’s so there was no point of making it in the first place. Other than this he also said, “The pope has no power over Purgatory”. Martin stated that popes cannot help you in removing the guilt, or in other words, pepe cannot help you cleanse your sins. He told people to watch out for those who say that actions effect the accord of God. He said that people should only cleanse themselves of the sins they have done with the ways God has prescribed in the Bible, and not to listen to pope. Another main point he made in his theses was that “Buying indulgences gives people a false sense of security and endangers their salvation.” What he meant by this statement was that indulgences can harm the receiver, giving them a false sensation of security. He urged that the Christians should be educated that the person who gives charity is better than the person who acknowledges pardon.
If we talk about the Twelve Articles of the Peasants, it contains the grievances of the German Peasants during the war. Amongst the twelve, the First Article states: “First, it is our humble petition and desire, as also our will and resolution, that in the future we should have power and authority so that each community should choose and appoint a pastor, and that we should have the right to depose him should he conduct himself improperly”. This clearly stated that the peasants were urging for democracy. They wanted to choose the minister amongst them, because he would be honest and fit for them. Just in case, the minister gets himself involved in wrongful deeds, the peasants wanted the power to remove him as well. Another article stated: “It has been the custom hitherto for men to hold us as their own property, which is pitiable enough, considering that Christ has delivered and redeemed us all, without exception, by the shedding of His precious blood, the lowly as well as the great”. By presenting this article, the peasants wanted to gain respect in the community and not to be thought of some sort of property which can be bought by the rich. They stated that in Christianity, everyone is equal in the eye of the God, and therefore they should be treated as equal in the society. Basically, in all the articles, the peasants tried to demonstrate all the hardships they were facing by the community, and were in hope for a resolution.
To understand why there was a revolt in the first place, we have to first, look at the reasons to what led to such consequences. Apostolic Succession was a Catholic claim which dictated that the Roman Church was the only true church. This gave the Roman popes superiority over all other churches out there. On the other hand, the protestants were teaching traditions in the church equal to Scripture itself. This resulted in the destruction of unity appointed by the medieval Christianity. Witnessing this, many historians claimed that this was the beginning of the modern era. The ending of the Protestant Reformation was anywhere from 1555 to 1648.
There have been countless efforts of ameliorates over the centuries within the Catholic Church. The lessons to be learnt from this Reformation was that it was a wakeup call to cleanse the Church, and to follow the Holy Book ‘The Bible’ instead of the traditions set by people. So, all in all we can say that the Germans tried to wage war on the Romans for their freedom of speech, and freeing them of the shackles placed by the pope. They could now try to live their life according to Christianity. The peasants were also granted rights which allowed them to live a better life in the society. “The thirty-year war came to an end in 1648… killing nearly one-third of the population of Germany.” So, were there any losses for Germany for waging this war? Yes, but this sacrifice was totally worth it for the German generations to come.