The Protestant Reformation And The Counter-Reformation

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

Reformation was a major European movement initially aimed at reforming the beliefs and practices of

the Roman Catholic Church; later, it reformed the political and social aspects of Europe as well. The

Counter-Reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation, had the intention of eliminating abuses

within the Church and counteracting the Protestant Reformation. While the Protestant Reformation

hoped to change the practices of the Church, the Catholic Reformation hoped to reform the abuses that

the Church practiced rather than the beliefs and practices of the Church. But, what is reform and which

“reformation” was truly a reformation?

Erasmus’ simpler translation

of the Bible became the basis for which Martin Luther translated the Bible into German because he

believed that the people needed to read the Scripture for themselves rather than depend upon a

clergyman to interpret it for them. The Counter-Reformation did not bring social change to Europe or

the Church, for the most part, the Church upheld all of their views. Davies wrote in Europe: A History,

“It [The Council of Trent] confirmed that the Church alone could interpret the Scriptures, and that

religious truth derived from Catholic traditions as well as from the Bible” (Davies 497). Although the

Protestant Reformation brought about many changes, it did not reform the Church despite many

attempts to do so. It created social change in Europe but did not reform the Church, which was its

original goal. Neither the Protestant Reformation nor the Counter-Reformation improved the Church,

but the Protestant Reformation did improve the social structure of Europe.

The Protestant Reformation reformed the political system in many ways and in different

Germany, where the Reformation began, was part of the Holy Roman Empire

and the Holy Roman Emperor considered it his mandate to protect the Roman Catholic Church and

ensure its supremacy. Davies wrote, “…Luther called on the German princes to overthrow the papacy

in Germany and establish a reformed German church” (Davies 373). Many princes; however,

motivated by the politics and the thought of being in power separated from the Holy Roman