Protestant Reformation Influence

Luther was zealous towards the gospel. He felt strongly about the gospel and felt it was unfair only the upperclassmen and well educated could read and interpret the bible themselves. People should be able to read and interpret God’s word themselves rather than trusting the pope’s interpretations. This was unpopular with the Catholic Church because they felt a loss of control over the masses and common people. What is more is the people of Wittenberg were too unintelligent to understand God’s word and this lead to the translating of the New Testament to German in 1529. It was not long before Luther took it upon himself to translate the Gospel in its entirety to German.

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

What impact did the Protestant Reformation have on sixteenth-century society and women in particular? Look at topics such as marraige, education, women 's religious duties, and even love and sex

There were many different complaints outlined by the Protestant Reformation. These complaints were addressed by the Catholic Church in many different ways.

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

Hi Christopher, Excellent post this week on the Protestant Reformation, and its influence on America. Today we enjoy being able to choose what to believe and having rights to speak out against those in government if we do not agree with them. In the past for many, any actions to disagree with the state or those in power would lead to serious consequences. We owe a lot to the protestant Reformation and the ideas that came from the movement. Without these changes in the peoples thinking and those who migrated to this country, America would be unrecognizable, as we know it now.

Rotten. Exploitive. Faithless. The Roman Catholic church was seen as corrupt in the late fifteenth century.The populace struggled with the brazen capitalistic Roman Papacy that didn't meet the needs of its congregation. The clergy’s use of indulgences as a way to salvation lacked the piety that disciples desired. Criticism of Catholicism did not cause sweeping changes in the sixteenth century; instead, the Protestant Reformation occurred due to the confluence of events triggered by one priest, Martin Luther. (Schilling) Although some historians allege that Martin Luther’s theology was reactionary due to its roots in medieval Christianity, his beliefs that the hierarchy of the church was unnecessary and that salvation was

In Mark Greengrass’s Christendom Destroyed, Greengrass looks at how Christianity has changed throughout Europe. This change was a direct result of Martin Luther, the Ottoman Empire as well as different rulers throughout Europe. Christianity was going through something that they had never saw before with this change. Different rulers with different philosophies contested some of the churches believes as well as the questioning by Martin Luther. With this church was forced to change due, this change can be considered change for the best. Luther’s arguments led way for another type of religion that the church had to go up against. This was the primary force that allowed for change. The questioning of ideas and the creation of a new way of believing was a direct threat to the church, change needed to happen.

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,

Prior to the early sixteenth century, the Catholic Church was the center of European society. Having its own legal system, the church owned large tracts of land, controlled education and provided the ethical issues that guided all of European society. Commanding the loyalty and devotion of its parishioners, the Catholic Church was seen as the guardian of eternal truth and the mediator of salvation. During this period, allegations of moral and theological abuses by the church were brought into question. The crisis between the church and state called for a reform that was led by Martin Luther, a once devout Catholic monk. At the conclusion of the Protestant Reformation, the political influence of the Catholic Church was weakened considerably.

The indulgences were created as a way for the Catholic church to generate revenue and they functioned as a get out of jail (purgatory) free card. Catholics believe that the soul goes to purgatory to be cleansed of their sins before moving on to heaven (Hollingsworth 11). Indulgences could be purchased from the church to either absolve the living or the dead from their sins without an act of repentance. The usual acts of repentance included prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and retreats and were meant to absolve the person of their sins (Hampson 89).

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 intent of this paper is to evaluate the distinct character and quality of the expressions of the Protestant Reformation. This paper will discuss Lutheran Reformation, The Anabaptist, and The English Puritans as well as the Catholic Reformation also known as the Counter Reformation. It is the hope that after the reader has had the opportunity to view each of the characteristics and the expressions of each of the reformation the reader will have a better understanding of each and will be able to articulate the differences of each.

To better understand the impact of the Protestant Reformation, it is crucial to first know what it actually was. The Protestant Reformation is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as, “the 16th-century religious movement that led to the establishment of the Protestant churches” (Merriam-Webster). The entire movement was based off of errors in the Roman Catholic Church that a man, known as Martin Luther, did not believe agreed with the teachings of the Bible. One main factor that helped progress the movement was religious practices and how the government responded to those practices. Reformed teachings majorly influenced the views and practices in the religious area. The Protestant Reformation radically impacted and changed society in Europe,

The reformation was a key factor in the transition of medical to modern Europe. During the end of the Middle Ages, the Church became corrupt and started focusing on money instead of power. Therefore, many reformers emerged onto the scene to help stop these corrupt methods. Martin Luther was the first to go against the church, and he was followed by many other reformers soon after. Luther, along with other reformers, marked a change in the way religion was in Europe. They formed their own ways of religion against the church, and formed a modern way of religion in Europe. Before, there was one main religion, and if you were not Catholic you were not accepted. Yet after the Reformation, more religions emerged in Europe. Although they were not all accepted everywhere, the people were able to practice their religion without being persecuted. Through the Reformation and the acceptance of other religions, Europe shifted from medieval to modern.