The Beginning Of The Reformation

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

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 Protestant Reformation was a major 16th century European movement aimed initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation in western and central Europe officially began in 1517 with Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. This was a debate over the Christian religion. At the time there was a difference in power. Roman Catholicism stands with the Pope as central and appointed by God. Luther’s arguments referred to a direct relationship with God and using the local vernacular to speak to the people. Luther’s arguments remove the absolute power from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in general. The revenue from the taxes paid to the Church would be reduced with Luther’s ideas, in part because of

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 Catholic Reformation was the response of the Protestant movement in the sixteenth century. By the sixteenth century, many people lost the trust for the Catholic Church because it was corrupt. Popes and Cardinals became involved in politics and were more like kings than spiritual leaders and Nepotism was rampant. This loss of trust led people to moved on into other branches of Christianity which includes, Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anabaptism. Catholic Church’s realized it needed to re-establish itself, thus beginning the Catholic Reformation. The Catholic Reformation was successful because it triggered the start of The Society of Jesus and The Council of Trent which helped resolve the church’s corruption through education,

A major 16th century movement initially aimed at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformation was begun by a German monk named Martin Luther who challenge the Catholic Church’s doctrine by posting his 95 Theses on a church door. He did this because he was appalled that the church was selling indulgences, which were written letters that assured people’s salvation, in order to build a new Basilica in Rome under Pope Leo X. Martin Luther argued that the Bible, not the pope, was the central means to discern God’s word and was the only thing capable of giving salvation.

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

There are approximately eight hundred million Protestant Christians currently in the world with it being the second largest Christian domination (Fairchild). However, there are over a billion followers of the Roman Catholic faith and it currently stands as the Christian domination with the most followers (Fairchild). If it were not for the German monk, Martin Luther, most Christians would have been Roman Catholic in the present. Martin Luther is famous for “95 Theses” that critiqued the practices and beliefs of the Catholic Church and it was written on Halloween Day, 1517 (Ellis and Esler 423-427). Other people agreed with him and shared their perceptions, which led to the birth of the Protestant Reformation (Ellis and Esler 423-427). In the documents written by people who either supported or were against the Protestant Reformation, the main idea of them is that the Catholic Church supported the idea of paying indulgences and competing with others for power.

The Protestant Reformation (1517 to 1648) was a time when the Catholic Church was very corrupt and and Martin Luther wanted to break away from Catholicism. It started in the Medieval Times when indulgences* were prominent in churches. The Printing Press and Martin Luther 95 Thesis contributed with the Protestant Reformation in many ways including, It made information more accessible, wake up call to the people.

The Archbishop then turned to Pope Leo X for advice, in doing so Pope Leo X didn’t want to cause trouble in Wittenburg due to political and other reasons. Pope Leo X sent senior member of the official church to then try and persuade Luther to drop is protests and complaints quitley without fuss, but Luthers next actions brought in various Catholic scholars to join the debate about the sale of indulgences. Luthers actions consisted of the making of pamplets and books. The first inventions of the printing press had a huge impact on the production rates at which Luthers books and pamphlets were being created. Once the increasing numbers of Martin Luthers books and pamphlets were being made this allowed him to distrubute it throughout germany. As the years carried on after the publicised 95 Theses was then followed by Martin Luther making new accusations/criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church. Mainly criticising the curruption of several individual popes. To help enforce and encourage the church reformation Martin Luther called upon local German rulers. The actions of Luther became too much for Pope Leo X and his accompainies causing them to excommunicate Martin Luther giving him only 60 days to apologize for his opinion and also the withdrawl of all his books and pamphlets. Martin Luther refused,

Individuals and groups of a society can promote change of the status quo. Many people took action and spoke out against issues within society during the Reformation. The Reformation was a movement in the 16th century where people called out the Roman Catholic Church on its unjust teachings. These people include John Wycliffe, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Martin Luther. The Church did not approve of this criticism and aimed to eliminate those who defied the Church.

Martin Luther’s 95 Theses’ were posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. “Because of the printing press, the 95 theses were known throughout Germany in two weeks and throughout Europe in a month.” (Document B). In harmony the printing press allowed many religious differences to spread causing the religious mix of Catholic and Protestant. “Luther’s protest triggered a movement called the Protestant Reformation and led to the Lutheran religion” (Document B). Between 1500 and 1560 England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, most of Scotland and many small German states became mainly Protestant. The printing press made it possible for many religious beliefs to spread allowing for people to become more educated and form better opinions on

After the Reformation, a significant amount of social changes came to light. Nevertheless, this time in history, as shown in Document 3, wouldn’t have reached the success that it did without the printing press. This was a machine that Johannes Gutenberg invented in order to spread information quickly and accurately. Martin Luther’s message was able to be easily spread throughout Europe now. And, with people having the ability to access the Bible on their own, not only was the population of Europe able to study Scripture without a priest, but also, the literacy rate in Europe dramatically increased.

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

Before the Reformation was redesigned, there were brutal religious rivalries on a daily basis. The Bible was used, dramatically, in restricting authority and actions of citizens; brainwashing, and surrounding their lives in the Catholic Church. Due to the amount of effort forced upon citizens, they believed passionately and strongly in the word of the Pope and Church; citizens would torture, while the Church would imprison anyone who questioned or mislead the obstructions of their authorities. The horrific events citizens had to witness were some of the most challenging and confusing during this era.