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. Much of these issues created conflicts within the church, separating the Christians of Western Europe into Protestants and Catholic. The Protestant Reformation was a major turning point in history that not only affected …show more content…
The church traced its history to Jesus of Nazareth, embracing rich classical cultural history while demonstrating power over its 1.1 billion members . In light of the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise of power was manifested in the Catholic Church as it showed dominance throughout Europe. Under the ruling of Pope Leo X, the church began the sale of indulgences in Germany. The principle is linked to the belief that a person’s journey to eternal salvation could be accelerate by means of worldly doings. This ultimately proved the church’s corrupted abilities. And while Reformation was a disapproval against perceived immoral doings by the Catholic Church, Protestants such as Martin Luther protested against these immorality to restore the church to a purer and more accurate form.
The Reformation was partially a result of the Renaissance. The era had also experienced uneasy political situation in Europe which also helped to extend religious revolt because many local rulers wanted their independence from the emperor Charles V. Finally, many tradesmen and peasants were seeking more rights from rulers and landlords and resented the church because they believed that it favored their oppressors. Committed to the reform of efficacy and indulgence, Martin Luther wrote a list of questions and propositions for debate often known as “The 95
The reformation caused the rulers to have more power against the Church. Henry VIII deprived the Pope of any power over the English Church. The Roman Catholic Church was very powerful before the reformation. The power of the Pope was greater than the European monarch's. The Roman Church was very wealthy from charging for the indulgences and forgiveness of sins. After the reformation Christian unity shatter and caused it to break off into many different religions. As a result, it weakened the Roman Church's strong hold.
The Protestant Reformation forever changed the religious, social, and political aspects of the world. These changes forever altered the world and paved the way for revolutions to
Through different inspirations, the Protestant Reformation and Age of Enlightenment sought to change the stagnant traditions of European thinking in the 15th and 16th centuries. Began by German priest named Martin Luther in 1517, he was one of the first people to publicly call out the Catholic Church and their bargaining of indulgences by pasting the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg church for everyone to see. The 95 Theses was a short list of the 95 flaws of the Catholic Church revolving around the use of their indulgences. Luther believed that people should not be scammed by the church and pay for fake indulgences for salvation, but rather come to a new understanding of salvation that came through faith alone. The other change of tradition was not getting your source of beliefs from the Catholic Church, but solely the Bible, which was a
The Protestant Reformation was a pivotal time of European history that occurred during the 16th century. The Protestant Reformation was comprised of people called “reformers” that challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice (“The Reformation”). The Protestant Reformation was revolutionary due to the fact that the reformers preached against everything the Catholic Church had been teaching. Some famous reformers are John Calvin and Martin Luther. However, Martin Luther-- to some--- is named the most successful and influential reformer of the 16th century. Martin Luther was tremendously effective and influential due to how resourceful he was, and his teachings spread across Europe swiftly.
In the 16th century intellectual, religious, cultural, and political views divided Catholic Europe and caused the Protestant Reformation. The way things turned out still effect and determine the structures and beliefs to this day. People like John Calvin, Henry VIII, and Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church on how it delivers Christian views. They disagreed on how the religious and political power was being distributed into the hands of the Bible. The argument began wars, persecutions and a Counter Reformation. Most historians usually believe that the start of the Protestant Reformation was around 1517 when Martin Luther published “95 Theses”. The ending is anywhere from 1555 which would allow the coexistence of Catholicism
To begin, the Protestant Reformation began in reaction to the Catholic Church’s rather corrupt practices. Prior to the Reformation, the only major Christian denomination in Western Europe at the time was Catholicism, headed by the Pope in Rome. Through many acts of violence such as the formation of the Spanish Inquisition and the slaughter of the Cathars, amongst others, Europe’s Monarchs had wiped out and suppressed any form of religious competition. With the Catholic Church holding a tight stranglehold over Europe, Catholicism was the only option. This allowed
The protestant reformation was a significant turning point during the 16th century that completely revolutionized the Roman Catholic Church. The “reformation” was launched in 1517 when a German monk by the name of Martin Luther posted his “95 Theses” on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. The main ideas of this publication was that selling and buying indulgences was wrong and that the pope has no power over purgatory. These 95 revolutionary opinions formed the basis for the protestant reformation which revolutionized western civilization over the next three centuries. Although most people believe these reforms only affected religion, the reformation also impacted political life. Politics played an enormous role in the reformation due to the fact that political rulers wanted to extend their power and control using the church. Throughout the course of the protestant reformation, political authorities such as Emperor Charles V and Henry
The Reformation also known as the Protestant Reformation was a movement that was created for the purpose of trying to reform the Catholic Church. The movement is said to have begun in the sixteenth century at a time where biblical views seemed to be ignored by the Catholic Church. The Reformation eventually involved more than just religious structures and believes, it also brought about political, intellectual and cultural issues that triggered wars and the Counter Reformation by reformers who viewed things completely different. The Reformation was started by Martin Luther but was countered by Ignatius Loyola whom viewed things from a different perspective which brought about two documents mentioned during the reformation which are, “Against
In the early sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation was started by Martin Luther. Martin Luther was not happy with the Catholic Church and wanted a reformation. What really angered Luther was the selling of indulgences. “Indulgences” was sold whenever a relative of a person died. If the person that died did not live a good life, that meant a relative could go to the church and could pay to have the their relative’s purgatory cut short. Luther was not happy with these practices. Luther strongly believed that one lived a life of humility in order to receive God’s grace. He was so angered that on October 31, 1517, he sent a list of “Ninety - Five Theses” to his church superiors. The Ninety - Five These were statements that were meant to defend and to dispute the abuse of indulgences. Luther hammered his theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg.
The Effects of the Reformation on European Life European society was divided from the word go, people all around Europe were dominantly Catholic before the reformation. This time was bringing change throughout Europe with a heavy influence on art and culture because the Renaissance was occurring; a religious revolution was also beginning, which was known as the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was the voicing of disagreements by a German Catholic priest about the Catholic Church; this priest was Martin Luther and was excommunicated from the church for his actions. The Protestant Reformation helped to influence and strengthen the Renaissance that was just arising in England.
This fundamental difference from the Catholic dogma that one could buy salvation to Luther’s new ideas as way to Heaven began to transform many people’s beliefs. Supporters of Luther adopted the concept of faith and knowledge of God as a way to repent their sins, and eventually, it reshaped the Christian culture. As Luther personally struggled to be a “perfect” monk, he discovered that faith in the gospel was the only way to be “made righteous by God”(roper 78). In response to his distress for his laity’s desire to buy indulgences, Luther wrote the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences.” He knew he was attacking the pope and the values of the church, but records show that he felt “...not fully in control of his actions, but handed over responsibility to a higher power”(84 roper). Cleary, Luther felt a spiritual connection with God and indulgences were in direct opposition to faith. His revolutionary claims in the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences” caused a conflict that would eventually be known as the Protestant Reformation.
A long history of corruption caused people to view the Catholic Church as a for-profit organization rather than God’s voice on Earth. By the Renaissance, the Catholic Church had already lost much of its power over secular rulers but still held leverage over the masses. This authority naturally paved the way for corruption. The most outrageous form of corruption practiced by the Church was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved. One of the ways the Church would generate income was by selling them. The notion started off innocently enough; it stemmed from the idea that punishment for crimes could be converted to payments of money, in essence, a fine (Simon 35). However, it soon spiraled out of control as the Church used indulgences simply to gain money, as when Pope Leo X needed money for the construction of St. Peter’s basilica (Duiker and Spielvogel 429). People began to view salvation as something that could be bought; they could go out and sin on Saturday night, then simply pay for it monetarily Sunday morning. To encourage people to buy more indulgences, the Church even claimed that indulgences could be bought on behalf of those already dead and in purgatory (Sporre 378). This blatant victimization was what spurred Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses,
The Protestant Reformation was one of the most widely known movements in history. In the 16th century, rulers used their power to overtake beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church. Many unsuccessful Church councils were held, trying to change the ways of the Catholic teachings. Some thought it was right, while others thought it was the wrong thing to do. A numerous amount of disputes took place while trying to start this movement.
The Protestant Reformation and European expansion have both left political, social and economic impacts throughout history. The Protestant Reformation which was started in the 1500’s, by a Catholic man named Martin Luther caused political instability and fragmented the Holy Roman Empire. It economically caused the church to go bankrupt and socially allowed for the rise of individualism among the people; Luther gave the people of Europe the long needed reason to break free of the church. The Protestant Reformation and the need for new converts lead to the rise of European expansion. European expansion into the west resulted in a political increase of power for Europe, the social increase in slavery, disease and racism, as well as the
The renaissance period marked radical changes in many fields, this includes religion. The so-called Protestant Reformation was the split within western Christian Church initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other early Protestants. Calls for reform came form all sectors of the European society and it is this dissatisfaction that explains why the ideas of Martin Luther evoked such extreme responses, there was already a ready audience. Although there had been significant attempts at reform before Luther, the date usually given for the start of the Protestant Reformation is 1517, when Luther published The Ninety-Five Theses. As he developed his ideas, Luther gathered followers, who came to be called Protestants. The word protestant