The Catholic Church and Reformation

1096 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of protestant reformation on europe

In 16th century Europe the Catholic Church had become extremely powerful, and with this power came corruption. Two men stood to change the direction of Europe forever. The first Martin Luther was the decided leader of the Protestant Reformation and St Ignatius de Loyola was the leader of the Counter Reformation. These men did not know the impact they were to have on the Europe and the world, but in this essay I will explain who these men are and their impacts on the world as we know it. Martin Luther was born in 1483. He was born a Catholic as that was the religion of the time. Marin Luther’s life was predetermined to become a lawyer, but instead he chose the path of becoming a monk. He toiled over questions and his relationship with God. It was thought that a person had to build up enough “good deeds” in order to be saved and to enter heaven. The church had a practice of “selling indulgences” which meant that the church was selling from the overabundance of good deeds that the saints had themselves accumulated. The church sold access to this bank of good deeds to the people, and led them to believe they were buying their access into heaven. These indulgences could be purchased for your past and future sins. The selling of indulgences, to Martin Luther, exposed the churches’ corruption. Martin Luther began to debate the choices the church was making and began to question the limits of papal authority. Martin Luther was banished from the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther then wrote Against Catholicism in 1535. Martin Luther begins this text by explaining his disagreement between the pope and himself. He wrote this to explain his debate on why the papacy has lost their way and to explain what he believed the r... ... middle of paper ... ... Reformation and was lead by Martin Luther, who initially just wrote a theses which he exposed some of the Church’s corruption. Martin Luther’s writing, Against Catholicism was a great catalyst for the Reformation, and a complete change of Europe, which is still evident today in our economic methods and the followings of the Protestant faith. The Counter Reformation was lead by St. Ignatius who headed the Jesuit order of Catholicism. St. Ignatius was trying to restore the Catholic faith and to lead the Catholic people and church back on the right path. These writings were so consequential and very bold for their time, with Martin Luther blatantly exposing the corruption of the Catholic Church, and St. Ignatius creating a new Catholic sect in order to curb the Church back to the righteous path. These two men, with their writings changed the course of history.

Show More
Related

  • Western Civilization: A Very Brief Overview from the Romans to the Counter-Reformation

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...17 “Martin Luther” confronted the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences. He placed notices on church doors exposing the corrupted practices. He lived believed good works alone could not earn salvation. The Reformation spread throughout northern Europe. The Catholic Church had no choice but to respond to the Protestant Reformation and they did so in the late 1530s through Spanish reformer “Loyola.” He formed a new religion order, he was the founder of the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, and they became the strength of the Catholic Church. This was known as the Counter Reformation.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Martin Luther's 95 Theses

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    People started to see the logic in his words and they started to break away from the Catholic church and in the process starting the protestant reformation. In his theses Luther believed that Faith not good deeds could save a person. People were convinced when they were told that if they pay so much money that their loved ones would be able to get out of purgatory and make it to heaven. Indulgences such as this was one of the major things that made Martin Luther so angry and adamant of writing his 95 theses because he wanted to see a change in the Catholic

    Read More

  • The Counter-Reformation: Effects Of The Protestant Reformation

    151 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Counter-Reformation also known as the Catholic Reformation took place in Italy during the 1500’s. The Counter-Reformation was an event that happen within the Roman Catholic which tried to abolish the mistreatment of regulations within the church. The Counter-Reformation was essentially the attempt to reform the Catholic Church ideals, so they wouldn’t lose anymore citizens to the Protestant religion at the time. The Counter-Reformation arose largely due to the effects of the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation took place in the 16th century where there was a religious, intellectual, political, and culture uproar that divided South Europe. The Protestant Reformation was were the citizens started to question the Catholic religion

    Read More

  • Catholic Reformation Dbq

    258 Words  | 1 Pages

    During the Renaissance, Catholicism was the main religion of Europe and the church was the main authority. As the rebirth continued, the population started being smarter and finding out information for themselves. Martin Luther, a protestant, spoke out against the Catholic Church for its abuses by pinning up the 95 these to prove his point of sola scriptura and faith alone. Therefore, the Protestant Reformation began in Europe, which made the Catholic Church very powerless and led to the Catholic Reformation. Although Luther had strong points about breaking away from the Catholic Church, the church had mostly a success to bring back Catholicism due to the reform and using Jesuits to spread the Catholic religion around the world.

    Read More

  • The Protestant Reformation And The Counter-Reformation

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 16th century was a time of social, political, and religious change in Europe. The Protestant

    Read More

  • The Hardships Of The Protestant Reformation And The Catholic Reformation

    1708 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Catholic Reformation Dbq

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Reformation occurred all over Western Europe. It was mostly set in Germany where various parts of corruption in the Church happened. Martin Luther started the process of the Reformation, he was German so he understood how the Catholic Church took advantage and didn't think this was fair. The Catholic Reformation took place between 1450-1650 which was the biggest revolution in Germany, although the understanding of Luther's actions weren't taken notice of until he put the 95 Theses on the Church's door. Luther felt that Bishops and Priests didn't understand the bible correctly. Luther wanted the Reformation to help fix this by helping the uneducated and powerless. Some of the movement of this was

    Read More

  • Analysis of Martin Luther's 95 Theses

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast Religion during Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and World at War

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    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").

    Read More

  • The Short-Term and Long-Term Causes of the Protestant Reformation

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Catholic Church Reformation Research Paper

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the the Catholic Church in Europe during the sixteenth century many reforms were needed. There were many issues including the incompetency of priests, and clerical immorality and absenteeism. Additionally, because of these predicaments people began to not only question the teachings of the church, they questioned the authority of the church as well. Initially, the Papacy was reluctant for reform to occur. The Papacy did not want to lose power or wealth and believed that they may if reforms ensued.

    Read More

  • The Protestant Reformation

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Before And After The Reformation Research Paper

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    SUSAN NDUBUISI HUM 1010 FINAL PAPER RELIGIOUS ART BEFORE AND AFTER THE REFORMATION The reformation in Germany started because Martin Luther was not happy with the way the Catholics were handling Christianity and he felt that a change needed to happen. He is known to have started the reformation by publishing a ninety-five thesis essay. In the essay, he rejected the authority the pope had against the people and argued that what they taught had no foundation in the bible. Before the reformation, art was sponsored by the catholic church in Rome and after the reformation, it became more secular and was well established.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther Thesis Statement

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther was a friar very devoted to the Church but after analyzing all these aspects he decided to do something about it. On October 31, 1517 he attached to the door of Wittenberg Castle a list of 95 theses or propositions on indulgences. These theses criticized papal policies and were objections about he church put on hold for discussion.

    Read More

  • Renaissance and Reformation

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    The renaissance and the reformation were two of the most significant changes in history that has shaped our world today. Both of these great time periods are strikingly similar in some ways and totally different in others. This is because the renaissance was a change from religion to humanism whether it is in art or literature; it is where the individual began to matter. However, the reformation was,” in a nutshell,” a way to reform the church and even more so to form the way our society is today. The first half of this paper will view the drop in faith, the economic powers, and the artistic and literary changes during the renaissance, while the second half will view the progresses and changes the church makes during the reformation.

    Read More

More about The Catholic Church and Reformation

Open Document