Protestant Reformation Dbq Essay

Among the many religious changes that occurred throughout Europe in the sixteenth century, few were as widely influential as the Reformation. There were three streams of the Reformation: the common class, the educated middle class, and the monarchs and princes. All three streams wanted the church to be fixed and hoped it could combine old ideas and new ones. The Reformation was influenced by many different people, yet the most important was John Wyclif, who stated that the church did not need possession in order to be powerful. Different ideologies came from the influences of Wyclif, and many others. Lutheranism began in the mid 1500’s by Martin Luther, and he developed a doctrine of Justification by Faith where he wrote of how people stay in the church and get to heaven from faith

Before the printing press, Europeans got their religious information from the Church, as most people were either illiterate or too poor to afford the expensive Bibles. However, the printing press made Bibles accessible to the public. This changed people’s opinions on religion, as they now educated themselves without relying on the Church. Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, was discontent with the Church’s practices, specifically their indulgences, where they accepted payments in return for salvation in the afterlife. Luther outlined his criticisms in the 95 Theses, sparking the Protestant Reformation movement. Luther’s 95 Theses spread throughout Europe, including 300,000 copies published in early 1500s Germany utilizing the printing press, thus introducing the new Protestant religion to more people. Religious reformation is an example of the Renaissance worldview that states “an individual’s dreams and achievements are given new emphasis”. For instance, Luther established the new Protestant religion because his dreams were possible, as people praised individualism. The group mentality was no longer significant, specifically for religion as people began to extend from

The Reformation was a split in the Catholic Church during the fifteen-hundred. This schism had major economic, political, and religious implications and caused the creation of Protestant Christianity. It began when Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, where he argued for reform of the Catholic Church. One of the issues that bothered Luther the most, was the sale of indulgences. Church officials sold forgiveness for people's’ sins. While this was just the beginning, there were many factors which led to the beginning of the Reformation.

The Reformation affected Europe in many ways, leaving many lasting effects on the people, churches, and government.

The massive disturbance that the Reformation caused had an enduring impact on European politics. After the Catholic Church considered Martin Luther a “protestant,” Europe became divided along confessional and territorial lines. The religious chaos of the period led to warfare within most states and between many. This warfare, especially the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), destroyed Europe. For example, the Lutherans and the Holy Roman Empire ended a war in 1555 with a stalemate to sign the peace of Augsburg. The most crucial part of this treaty was “cuius regio eius religio,” which mean’t whatever political entity controlled an area had the right to decide what religion that area would follow. The Peace of Augsburg was only intended to be temporary, but it caused many unintended issues such as the split of Germany until its unification in the 1860s.

For example, in Document 3, it includes,"Because of the inseparable relationship between the church and politics, many of the clergy had became as corrupt as noble families paid for church offices...People were also upset by the high taxes charged by the bishops to support the Pope and his projects." This means that because of clergy wanting money, the bishops and other clergy members raised taxes to get people to pay the Pope and the other clergy. The church addressed this problem by putting it aside for later examination. The church attempted to fix the problem but it kind of got forgotten. The clergy just went on abusing their power like Nero or Caligula in the Roman Empire. The clergy kept thinking they could get away with anything just because the Pope had the power of excommunication: he had the power to not let other human's souls go to heaven and banish them from the Church. The bishop or parish priest were very important. The priest baptized you and the few people who can actually read the bible were the parish priests. They could only read it because the Bible at that time was written in Latin. That was until Martin Luther copied it into the language the others knew: a form of German. The people of the church were so important that the others paid the high taxes until they had enough of paying them so much. Then Martin Luther came along

The Reformation was a movement in the 16th century that was marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine or practice and led to the establishment of the Protestant Churches. Although this was mostly viewed as just a religious movement, there we also many political and social aspects of it. In the beginning Johann Tetzel sold indulgences, a pardon for certain types of sin, the guilt that has been forgiven which was a position very harshly challenged by Martin Luther. Luther was later a German professor, but at this time came to be known as a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Anyway, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses which he wrote as a protest against the selling of indulgences. After this he was

From an economical standpoint, the Protestant Reformation greatly influenced the modern world. For example, the Protestant Reformation took advantage of the recently invented printing press. It helped to spread the use of vernacular and ideas, improved literacy, and increased nationalism. As a result, the amount of books and knowledge available skyrocketed. In 1500, there were 40000 books where in 1600 there were over 200 million.

During our studies, I felt that the Protestant Reformation had many consequences during this time frame. It brought problems to many family’s inner circle, as well as education and various religious beliefs. Women now suffered a step back in their lives. They were often pressured into being the house wife and no longer allowed to participate in various roles. Education for boys and girls, capitalism for middle class, and the suppressed religious practices (Lent, Sacraments) that people often participated in. It was more geared to taming the culture for their own control over the people. As far as the political aspect of

The Protestant Revolution was a revolution among the Christian faith. It was predominantly led by Martin Luther, a man who disagreed with some defining principles of Catholicism. There were some major factors that led to this reformation. Three of these were _____, the new school of thought known as Humanism, and the corruption among the Catholic Church during the Renaissance.

These stated the errors of the Roman Catholic Church and the approach that should be taken. This would lead to the rapid spreading of Lutheranism. Like stated previously, Martin Luther was an individual who strived to reform the abusive doings of the church. Being strong in his faith he realized the need for a change that would be much greater than the already standing institution. Martin Luther’s creation of the 95 Theses was the causation of his reformation turning into a revolution. Though his criticisms were based on the church, his writing would be the reason to why Protestantism

P1: How the Reformation effected Europeans politically • The reformation split Europe apart • Some Europeans separated themselves from the Catholic church- became Protestant • Nobles, princes, and the monarch had supreme power of their region • They choose what religion their state will follow- Protestant or Catholic • Example- Henry VII • The church began to isolate themselves from involvement in the government • Anabaptists and how they wanted the church separated from the gov’t P2: How the Reformation effected Europeans socially • Peasants’

During the 16th century, Europe experienced changes that shaped the country forever. Humanism became the dominant philosophical stance, advances were made in art and literature, royal power grew, and explorations lead to the discovery of gold and silver. This discovery made Europeans “money-mad”. However, none of these events were quite as revolutionary as the Protestant Reformation of 1517. The Reformation was a schism that caused the people of Europe to make a choice between Protestant and Catholic. Many people were unsatisfied with the church; it had become corrupt. The wealth of the church had greatly increased and it had become greatly unorganized. The Protestant Reformation was caused by the abuses

The underlying causes of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century were social, political, and economic in nature. Financial burdens, humanist ideas, and corrupt popes set the stage for a change which was welcomed by Europe. These changes gave power to the people. Both negative and positive consequences followed the reformation. One action was the Counter Reformation in the Catholic Church. Negatively, however, persecutions of Protestant persisted for many years causing thousands of people to flee their homelands in search of religious freedom. Overall, the Protestant Reformation opened new avenues of thought in Europe.

The Reformation exercises a great influence on the change of the politics structure of Europe. Because of the Reformation, the European feudalism began to crumble. And the establishment of Reformed or Protestant accelerates the development of bourgeoisie. Because the different countries show the different attitude to the new religious belief, the politic changes of European countries are in different steps. All of this illustrate that the revolution of ideology can also exercises a great influence on social system.