How Did The Protestant Reformation Impact Society

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

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.

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era.

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

While many are unaware, the Protestant Reformation continues to be impactful in how people in America today view freedom, government, and rights. In general, the Reformation has played a role on the construction of America’s social order and diversity, the day-to-day natural life, and religious freedom. Beginning with the American Constitution, the foundation of Christianity (unversed in any other part of the world), unites religious moral standards with the American way of thinking regarding cultural diversity, equal rights, religious belief, and sexual characteristics.

Given the imbalance within multiple civilizations in the past. The Protestant Reformation was a time where that imbalance was present. The higher officials had shown improper exercising of their rights, in that they stripped people of their freedom, and "regularity" with no valid reason to do so. This is evidenced from document 2, "We therefore take it for granted that you will release us from serfdom as true Christians, unless it can be shown us from the gospel that we are serfs." Simply put, they were forced into labor. With no plausible reason, their freedom was taken by force. The balance was so skewed toward the higher officials, that they can easily exercise their rights of taking freedom, without any

The only power the secular government should have are matters of “actions only, & not opinions.” These words echo that of Luther who believed that “... need no ruler ought to prevent anyone from teaching or believing what he pleases, whether Gospel or lies. It is enough if he prevents the teaching of sedition and rebellion (Luther, 22).” Two hundred years later, the influence of Luther’s theology and concept of the separation of Church and state influenced those who founded of the United States of America. This would then lead them to make the separation of Church and state the cornerstone of modern

The protestant reformation happened at the moment that it did because the Catholic Church was very a powerful force in Europe. It controlled people lives both spiritually and temporally. The church had so much power that it maintained political control over a large portion of Italy. The fact that the church held so much control over countries and governments became a point of contention among European countries such as the Holy Roman Empire, Italian city-states outside of Rome, England, France and Spain. The power of the rulers of these areas had greatly increased in the 14th century and they were eager to take the chances offered by a Reformation to weaken the grip of the Catholic Church in Europe and also to develop their own powers across the European continent. For quite some time the Catholic Church had been an institution rampant with internal struggles. Such as the Avignon Papacy from 1309 to 1377 when seven popes opted to live in Avignon, France and not reside in Rome which was and is the traditional home of the Papacy. The Pope and other high ranking church officials often lived opulent lifestyles rather than a more austere lifestyle that should befit a spiritual leader. Many church leaders and Popes maintained political powers. They led armies, waged wars and made many political decisions. Church offices were sold, and many Popes and bishops practiced nepotism to fill church offices. With all of these worldly issues for the Pope

Martin Luther and The Protestant Reformation significantly changed not only the Medieval World but also the Catholic Church. Martin Luther’s actions challenged the Catholic Church because of his Ninety-five Theses, the pamphlets written about the Catholic Church’s faults, and the rapid spread of the newly translated Bible. These documents started the Protestant Reformation which was to continue for another hundred years. Martin Luther was born on the 10th of November 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. After school Martin studied to become a lawyer at the University of Erfurt.

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.

In America there would never have been Pilgrim Fathers if there had not first been a Protestant Reformation. The Reformation has profoundly affected the modern view of politics and law. Prior to the Reformation the Church governed politics; she controlled emperors and kings and governed the

What happens when people start to break away from the entity that bound an entire civilization together for over a thousand years? How does one go from unparalleled devotion to God to the exploration of what man could do? From absolute acceptance to intense scrutiny? Sheeple to independent thinkers? Like all revolutions preceding it, the Protestant Reformation did not happen overnight. Catholics had begun to lose faith in the once infallible Church ever since the Great Schism, when there were two popes, each declaring that the other was the antichrist. Two things in particular can be identified as the final catalyst: a new philosophy and simple disgust. The expanding influence of humanism and the corruption of the Catholic Church

The battle for liberty has been fought on different scales with the beginning of thousands of revolutions in the history. The ideal liberty is an ultimate goal that inflames the minds of many people who yearn for individual freedom. In all these struggles, the definition of liberty is not the same for different people. According to the text, “the idea of liberty has played a powerful role in the history of Western society and culture, but the meaning and understanding of liberty has undergone continual change and interpretation.” For example in the Roman world, liberty meant the condition of being a free man. In the Middle Ages, liberty meant having special privileges or rights. However, the idea of liberty under religious dimension was rather new. Martin Luther King had interpreted another important foundation of liberty in his treatise On Christian Liberty: the important of faith and Scripture to Christian life.

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

In particular, they point to the birth of the middle-class, with its emphasis on social fluidity and individual selfdetermination; the Protestant Reformation and its appeal to individual interpretation of texts; and the development of scientific and philosophical empiricism with its focus on specific sensual details of life as the ultimate source of knowledge.