Western Religions In 16th-Century Christianity

Religion is the essential drive that binds a race or religious groups together, and it provides it with a sense of existence. It does this by adding a method to life, by guiding and teaching people all of the aspects to living. Day after day people turn to religion and God to discover answers and seek advice with there problems or for other assorted reasons. People turn to religion to try and make sense and understanding of the world that can often seem too stressful and meaningless, to rise above however with faith; it gives the impression of meaning.

　　Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are of the three most popular religions that rest on the establishment of a individual creator assumption and are therefore called western religions. As

these religions have the same principles in common; the religious belief that this universe came into the world of existence, as well as overseen and guided by one God. The influence and acceptance of western religions can be determined from the fact that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic faiths practiced by about half of the world's population.
　　Christianity is one of the most popular growing influences to this day. Western Christianity matured and came to be widely dominant in almost all of Europe and makes up about 90% of Christians worldwide. Western Christianity is based on Roman Catholicism, and itself was divided by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, and marked the start of "Western" forms of Christianity including Puritanism and Evangelicalism, movements emerging from the varied "Great Awakenings" in the 18th to 20th century Anglosphere and popularly practiced in the USA.
　　In 16th-century Christianity, Protestantism came to the limelight and marked a powerful development in the Christian world.

The Protestant Reformation, often referred to simply as the Reformation, was the separation within Western Christianity initiated by the most notable reformer Martin Luther a German theologian. He and many other brave and controversial figures helped reshape and revolutionize the face of Christianity. Luther began by denouncing the selling of indulgences, insisting that the pope had no authority over hell and that the Catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints had no establishment in the faith of the

church.
　　The Reformation was born of Luther's dual declaration; first, the discovering of Jesus and deliverance by faith solely; and second, classifying the Papacy as the Antichrist. The profoundly informed Reformation leaders used prophecies of the Bible as their utmost effective weapon in tempting committed believers to break from the church, which they perceive as the new Babylon, and to prove to them that the Pope is the Antichrist who had assumed the place of God. The Protestant Reformers were unified in agreement and this understanding of prophecy provided value to their actions.
　　Christianity in the 17th century showed both deep conflict and new tolerance.

The Age of Enlightenment grew to challenge Christianity as a whole, it was a time period in which cultural and social changes occurred emphasizing reason, analysis and individualism rather than traditional ways of thinking generally elevating human reason above divine revelation, and down-graded religious authorities. The Age of Enlightenment was initiated by philosophes beginning in late 17th-century Western Europe the process of change fueled from voluntary organizations of men who were committed to the betterment of society. The Enlightenment was a time in which men thought they were no longer in need of a religious perspective to explain the world. Through the power of their own reason, men believed that they could understand and explain the world better than religious and/or superstitious

ideas.
　　Institutions that were deeply rooted in society, such as religion and the government began to be questioned and a greater emphasis was placed on ways to reform society with toleration, science and skepticism. Philosophers including Francis Bacon influenced society by publishing works in the public sphere. Upon learning about enlightened views, many rulers would apply these reforms to their nations such as allowing for toleration, or accepting multiple religions, in what became known as enlightened absolutism. Thinkers and writers were making very serious and engaging efforts at finding ways to reconcile the thought of the Enlightenment with Christian revelation. They meant to find a way to show that what was coming to be understood through Enlightenment rationality and science was indeed a deeper and further understanding of God’s created world.