The Reformation Dbq

The leaders of the Reformation, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I all had similar ideas that the Catholic Church’s rule was strict and did not meet their needs in a political or spiritual realm. Their success in breaking away from the church and influencing others came at a time when the church was exerting its power in both the religious and state arena. The leaders of the Reformation were successful due to the shift in attitudes toward the church regarding spiritual salvation and political movement.

Starting with Martin Luther, a German scholar and friar, first took issue with how Pope Leo X monetized repentance through the use of indulgence, meaning, if you helped pay for construction projects, God will forgive you and you will not have to repent for your sins (McKay, 2015, 441). This practice was in stark contrast to Luther, who felt a persons’ faith in scripture would dictate salvation, not the hierarchy of the church. In an act of protest, Luther nails his 95 Theses to the Church door not expecting much of a reaction given the language, however, as Rush (ND) points out, given the holiday and number people church officials who read his protest, his ideas spread opening his thoughts to debate (The Protestant Reformation, 13).

Although the masses liked Luther’s ideas on salvation, his distaste for the church hierarchy and wealth, in addition to his overall dislike of Italy and the Pope, Ulrich Zwingli did not fully subscribe to Luther’s arguments; he had his own ideas which were a literal interoperation of the bible similar to that of modern evangelicals.

Zwingli’s ideas were accepted by the few, however his form of religion was quickly stopped when he took up arms against the church and was thoroughly

defeated.

As the Protestant religion spread, England’s King Henry VIII, unsatisfied with his inability to divorce his wife denounced the church and created the Church of England, which exhibited many Protestant overtones. The Church of England removed the power of the Pope over the State and aligned it to the monarchy and subjects thereof. It became further ingrained in the English culture when the Regents of Edward VI moved further away from the Pope cementing the Church of England in the culture. The acceptance of the new religion was made evident when Mary I attempted to eradicate the Church of England and return to Papal rule causing tension in the lands as the people refused to transition back to the Catholic Church. When Elizabeth the First assumed the throne, she normalized the country returning to the Church of England, which was widely accepted.

The leaders of the Reformation were successful due to the shift in attitudes toward the church regarding spiritual salvation and political movement. Martin Luther’s simple ideas that the church was abusing its power, hording wealth and was corrupt started an era of change throughout Europe. His ideas resonated with common people and freed heads-of-state from Papal rule which then evolved into various religions, most of which are still around today.