Analysis of the Influence of Religious Reformation on the Change of

The Reformation affected the European civilization in many ways. Protestant and Catholic had a huge impact on the European civilization. The Reformation happened in the year 16c . Some causes of the Reformation was church corruption, Avignon Papacy, Conciliarism, Marsilius of Padua, Development of personal devotions, Papal need for money, and greed of secular leaders land. There was also few characteristics described in this civilization. The law in order was one of them. Kings were the highest leaders over everybody. People believed they were put in position by god and that it was god's will over their people. They had created the laws. Other characteristics were heredity, slide support from the middle class (towns), and organize their finances into reliable order. Rulers would want family members to continue the bloodline of a ruling of their people. Some families even fought because they wanted to be rulers. People separated by their class because they had a social class system. People at a high class relied on lower class people for support.

Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career by James M. Kittelson is a biography of the famous German monk turned theologian and reformer, Martin Luther. This is one of the most influential men in history, and as a matter of fact, “In most big libraries, books by and about Martin Luther occupy more shelf room than those concerned with any other human being except Jesus of Nazareth” (Kittelson 9). This fame of Luther’s isn’t only postmortem, “This extraordinary interest in an extraordinary man reaches back almost half a millennium. Even in his own time Luther was a ‘media personality’ the first of such in three thousand years of human history” (Kittelson 9). Luther was a subject of great controversy in his own time, as well as in our, and it has only driven his name and message into the spotlight. No matter or what one aligns himself with, “People still find themselves taking sides on the question of Luther” (Kittelson 9). It is for this reason that James M. Kittelson wrote this survey. He tells us that “The primary purpose of this book is to tell the story of Martin Luther to readers who are not specialists in the field of Luther studies” (Kittelson 10). This book is a general overview of all aspects of Luther, not just a precise dissection of one aspect, which allows for “as faithful a picture as possible of the whole man” (Kittelson 11).

The sale of indulgences was not saving any souls rather yet it was condemning them. The true way to clear away the sin is to as God for forgiveness and repent of the sin committed. Luther objected to the sale of indulgences for many reason. First of all the Pope does not have the power to relive someone from a sin, only God can. Second paying your way out of guilt does not save you in the eyes of God, true repent does. Third many crimes were being committed nonchalant due to buying indulgence. Lastly, the Pope was the making money out of selling indulgence yet not giving back to its people. Rather they

The reformation was a drastic event in the early modern period that launched Europe into a massive conflict of widespread violence, through both political and religious factors. The political scene had remained very much the same before the beginning of the reformation in 1517, with many philosophers sharing similar ideas on how to handle the issues of sovereignty and private property. Religion was a long debated factor before the reformation however was brought inadvertently to the forefront of most political works in the early years of the Protestant Reformation. This event completely changed the way in which philosophers constructed their political discourse as seen with More and Martin Luther, who although despite being placed on

Religion still maintained a key role throughout this period however, one of the few themes that was retained by all philosophers that religion was needed in some form or another in order for a society to function effectively. All of these factors were created and continuously changed due to the issues and key themes the Reformation brought to the forefront of political discussion and in doing so, dramatically changed political

Feudalism, during medieval society, was parallel to the existence of the Catholic Church and its influence over the population. Religion permeated all elements of society and the way in which they related to each other. The Church wasn’t only a spiritual power, but a political and economic one and the struggles between the political and religious leaders will be key factors in the development of the medieval world. The church will also be the primary keeper of knowledge in the Middle Ages, and they will accomplish most cultural advancements.

Reformation is the religious revolution that took place in Western Europe in the 16th century. It arose from objections to doctrines and practices in the medieval church, loss of papal authority and credibility as well as other societal, political and economical issues of the time. This revolution had a major impact on Europe and it gave way to short term and long-term consequences, which still can be seen today.

The Reformation started with the ideas and concepts of Martin Luther, all explained in his Ninety-Five Theses. Luther believed that God’s gift of faith was freely given to the unworthy, and the righteousness is passive and is not active or based on our good works or deeds. These ideas clashed with the Roman Church, which in turn created the “Indulgence Controversy.” To raise money to help rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Leo X issued the offer of indulgences as a penance for parishioners to buy. This penance acted as a way to pay as a remission of temporal punishment due to the sins of the person whose guilt has already been forgiven. Luther caught wind of the issue of indulgences happening within his own church and went ballistic

Johann Tetzel was one of the many Catholic leaders that disagreed with Luther’s teachings and was Luther’s first public antagonist. Tetzel knew that the theses where written about him and his teachings (Ganss, Henry, 2012).When people read Luther’s theses; they soon began to realize how bad indulgences were and became very angry with Tetzel. His indulgence sales went way down and he became very upset with Luther (Estep, William R, 124-125). Martin Luther’s intent was for the pope to remove the sale of indulgences because he felt that it corrupted the Church, and he also questioned the existence of purgatory.

The Renaissance started in 1517 and spread like fire across Europe. Martin Luther was the catalyst of this reformation because of his 95 Theses. Once England split from the Roman Catholic church a lot more than religion was changed; including cultural and philosophical views. Society, religion, and art was all affected by this movement because of the change of thinking, and even more was affected because of the ripple effect.

Protestant Reformation and Its Impact on History and Society One of the most outstanding of all revolutions was the 16th century religious revolution known as the Reformation. This group aimed chiefly at restructuring the views and practices of the Roman Catholic Church that was geared toward altering the structures and beliefs that would outline the continent in the modern era. Its religious aspects were complemented by determined political rulers who wanted to extend their power and control at the expense of the Church.

Martin Luther was very angry how the Catholic Church did not teach from the Bible. The church would twist the scripture so they would get more profit from the congregation. An example of this is indulgences. An indulgence is when someone would give money or gifts to the Church to ensure eternal salvation. However, that is contradictory to John 3:16 which states that all that is needed to go to Heaven is belief in Jesus Christ. The Catholics had an inaccurate concept of salvation. Luther encouraged Christians to not follow the teachings of the Catholic Church but to follow Christ instead.

In 1508 Luther was ordained into the priesthood and began teaching the same year. He was awarded a doctorate in 1512, and was appointed into the theological faculty at the University of Wittenberg. It was there that he spent his career and began to explore the many problems he saw infesting the Catholic Church. In Wittenberg Luther began to question several of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. His convictions of penance and righteousness, as well as salvation started to change from what his instruction had led him to believe. This became the foundation of his “new conversion”. At this point, Luther began to propagate and formulate his own ideas and formulate them into a doctrine of justification. It is this doctrine of justification that opened the divide between the Roman Catholic Church and Martin Luther. The Roman Catholic Church in 16th century had established and linked “membership” in the Church with salvation. The threat of “excommunication” was used as a weapon to keep members in line and to punish those that had move outside the boundaries of conduct and actions set by the Church hierarchical authority. The Roman Catholic Church believed that “it alone” was God’s instrument and representative on Earth and salvation could only be found through the means church

Martin Luther was eager to change the Roman Catholic Church since his beliefs clashed with the church’s practices. He proclaimed that salvation of the soul will come about because of the genuine confidence in God, not simply great deeds. Martin Luther also firmly hated the demonstration of conceding and offering indulgences since he felt that forgiveness came from that person and God.

Luther began his reformation by sending his 95 Theses to all christian churches. These theses were a list of concerns with Church practices and doctrine. There were many ideas that Luther disagreed with, one being indulgence. The sale of indulgences was a practice where the church acknowledged a donation or other charitable work with a piece of paper (an indulgence), that certified that your soul would enter heaven more quickly by reducing your time in purgatory. Pope Leo X, had granted indulgences to raise money for the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Luther then turned to the bible as the only reliable source. With the printing press invention and the help of translation, meant it was possible for those who can read to learn the bible. Now, a direct relation with God was available to almost anyone for an affordable price. When Luther and other reformers began to look at the wording of the bible, they found themselves discovering that practices and teachings of the church about how to achieve salvation did not match Christ’s