The Protestant Reformation The Protestant Reformation: What it was, why it happened and why it was necessary. The Protestant Reformation has been called "the most momentous upheaval in the history of Christianity." It was a parting of the ways for two large groups of Christians who differed in their approach to the worship of Christ. At the time, the Protestant reformers saw the church- the Catholic church, or the "universal church- " as lacking in its ways. The church was corrupt then, all the way up to the pope, and had lost touch with the people of Europe. The leaders of the Reformation sought to reform the church and its teachings according to the Scriptures and the writings of the Apostles. They sought to simplify the church by returning to its roots, roots long lost by the Catholic church at the time, or so the reformers believed. After the fall of the Roman Empire, life in Europe declined rapidly into the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages were a time of misery and darkness. There were only two socioeconomic classes: the very rich nobility or the very poor peasants. Small kingdoms popped up everywhere, and were constantly at war with one another. Whole libraries were destroyed, and the only people who remained literate were the clergy of the Christian church. Life became such a struggle to survive that, for a period of five hundred years, very little artwork or literature was produced by the whole of Europe. Eventually, around the year 1000, the conditions in Europe began to get better. This marked the beginning of the Middle Ages. The Crusades began as an effort to revitalize the spirits of the people. However, things still weren't very good. Plagues ravaged the land, carried by rodents and destroying whole villages. With th... ... middle of paper ... ...an than Germany and its neighbors. The people of the south were also of a different heritage. The Catholic church centered itself around the ruins of the Roman Empire and was made up of the descends of the Romans and Jews. The people of the north came from the Germanic tribes like the Goths, tribes which had been instrumental in the fall of the Empire. The south was decadent, the north rural. It is hardly surprising that these two regions would eventually develop their own form of religious expression. Thus, Protestantism and its offshoots- Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist and such- are still popular in the world today, very often with people who have roots where the faiths originated. Roman Catholicism still thrives as well, but in a less corrupt state than during the Reformation. It now dominates much of Europe, while the Protestant religions have taken over America.
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.
There are so many causes from the Protestant Reformation. In the Protestant, there was three different sections that got affected more the the others. When the Protestant Reformation happened it affected the Sociality, Political, and Economic the most.
Martin Luther was a German friar, Catholic priest, and a professor of theology who later became known for what we now call the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, feeling disgruntled at the behavior exhibited by his fellow friars and priests, Martin Luther decided it was time to make his disapproval known. One of the things he was disgruntled about were the churches selling what they called Indulgences, or essentially, "get out of Purgatory free" cards. These churches would sell them to whomever could afford the fee for them. Sometimes, even charging more than double the original price if they had a parishioner who was a repeat customer. Luther was disgusted that the churches would even consider selling reparations to parishioners for a fee.
With the Protestant Reformation occurring and King Henry the VIII creating the Church of England, the colonists wanted to decide their own religion. We can see today that America is a cultural diversity. Tradition still carries on from that time as it was back in colonial times of the revolution such as in New England the majority were Puritans, the Middle Colonists were a mixture of religion such as Quakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Jewish and many others where as the South, much like today, was filled with Baptists and Anglicans. America now accepts all religions because it was founded upon religious diversity and freedom. Both the Enlightenment and Protestant Reformation were a time of
Through the tumultuous years between 1350 and 1750, a surge of lust for change clawed at the hearts of Europeans. This yearning for stability translated in different ways throughout Europe, however, it undeniably reformed the mindset of Europe's kingdoms. While some turned to a strong monarch to carry the burden of their anxieties, others filled their hearts with fervent nationalism, others still, placed their discontentment solely on the evils of the Catholic Church. As would be expected, the Catholic Church did not respond well to this push against their time honored authority, though ultimately a reformed mindset took grip of European society.
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 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
with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an
Many people switched religions, due to the untrust of the Catholic church, which led to most of them converting to protestantism. Although Catholicism and Protestantism are branches of Christianity, they had many differences as well. The bibles were re-written to the language of its followers, so the ordinary people could read them, and be fully involved during church. Also, protestant followers believed that they could find god without meeting with a priest, unlike Catholic believers. And, they believed that god, and god only, could forgive them of their sins. The churches were created very blandly and were often quite plain compared to that of the Catholic church, which were always decorated with beautiful colors, shrines, and statues. One of the most notable marks of the reformation was how religious followers of both the Catholic and Protestant churches were persecuted. Protestants were persecuted more often and were slaughtered ruthlessly by being hung, drawn, quartered, beheaded and burned alive. ¨The convictions and beliefs in these different religions were so strong that they led to the executions of many adherents to both of these Elizabethan religions.¨ (Michael Stots, 24) Protestantism gained thousands of followers in the Reformation and gained power, even while thousands of followers were killed just for religious
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 Reformation and the Counter-Reformation were major motivating factors in early modern Europe leading to exploration of new lands. This began with Martin Luther’s break from Catholic doctrine in 1519. By the time the Reformation came onto the European stage, Spain had already discovered the New World and started settling there. One of their goals was to establish colonies and convert the Natives to Catholicism, so that religion gained an early foothold in the New World. The Protestant Reformation taking place in England was driven by the Christian Church to return to the “purity of early Christianity.” This group was tired of the worldliness of the Roman Catholic Church that came about during the Renaissance age. Another major change was the printing press, which allowed quick access to Luther’s ideas. According to the text, “the printed word and the ability to read it were to become revolutionary weapons.” Out of Luther’s concepts came John Calvin who created Calvinism, which further refined Luther’s ideas. Both Calvinism and Lutheranism appealed to the common man.
The Protestant Reformation and Catholic Reformation included various individuals who each had an impact throughout the 16th and 17th century. Such figures included Machiavelli, Pope Leo X, Henry VII, Martin Luther, and others contributed at this time also. Machiavelli wrote The Prince, a novel on political power on how a prince should use his authority. He dedicated his work of literature to the Medici family, specifically to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici . Machiavelli wrote The Prince at the time he was exiled from Italy which proves he took advantage of the time which made him an effective writer. In Machiavelli’s work he presents his beliefs of what an ideal prince should have as traits. Some qualities Machiavelli states are that man is flawed, a prince needs to be prepared for any circumstance, and a prince must be respected . Pope Leo X was a controversial figure at the time for his decision of selling indulgences. This action caused various consequences including the Protestant Reformation. Using Machiavelli’s theories, the statement “The Catholic Reformation was outwardly Machiavellian in its response to the Protestant Reformation while the actions of Protestants was implicitly Machiavellian” is valid when viewing Martin Luther, Henry VIII, and the Council of Trent.
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.
Though there was no driving force like Luther, Zwingli or Calvin during the English Reformation, it succeeded because certain people strived for political power and not exactly for religious freedom. People like Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII brought the Reformation in England much success, however their reasons were based on self-gain and desire for political power.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.