The Protestant Reformation Changed Christianity

ii. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Roman Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation.

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

Martin Luther was one of the main people to cause the Protestant Reformation. Luther was a monk, lawyer, and professor who contributed and sparked interest in the reformation by putting his “95 Theses” on the church door. The “95 Theses” was a list of statements and judgements of the church and why Luther had concerns about it. Many people took interest in the theses for they showed valuable points on indulgences and other issues. Although Luther had many other contributions, other people helped along in the process of the reformation such as John Calvin who developed many reforms in the Protestant reformation. Those who followed many of the reforms made by Calvin were known as Calvinists and contributed a lot to the newly established Protestant religion. Therefore, an equally significant aspect of the cause of the Protestant Reformation were the crucial people that helped stand up for the

Before I get into answering the question, I thought it would be right to give a little information about The Protestant Reformation which happened from 1517-1648. The Protestant Reformation was started by Martin Luther (1483-1546), who was a Theologian in the sixteenth century. A Theologian is defined as “the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; the study of God and God’s relation to the world.” Martin Luther had submitted a note which contained the 95 Theses that was written in Latin on October 31, 1915, and left on the door of the Castle Church also known as Schlosskirche Wittenberg. Luther questioned some of the ways and the gratifications of the Roman Catholicism, which resulted in individuals to separate from the Roman Catholic Church and branch off to Protestant. (bio.com). Along with Martin Luther there were other individuals from central and northern Europe, which included Henry VIII and also John Calvin. These three were able to question the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church and the way they described how Christianity was supposed to be. They wanted the authority to come from the Bible and not of the popes and such to have that

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th century religious, political, intellectual, and cultural upheaval that splintered the Catholic Church. Europeans started to have a growing distrust of the Catholic Church, and as a result led to the formation of a new sect of Christianity: Protestantism. This period of reform was brought on by the publication of the 95 Theses written by the German monk, Martin Luther. His, and all Protestant followers, primary issue with the church was its unjustified practices including: absenteeism, simony, and the sale of indulgences.

Worldview is comprehensive view or philosophy of life, the world and the universe. The Middle Ages view on the world was that humans were evil and must be controlled; therefore, the feudal system was formed with obedience being the most important virtue of life. Progress was not possible because of humanity’s fall from grace and the Pope and church oversaw everything. The Middle Ages lasted from 500 A.D to 1500 A.D and consisted of war, famine, plague, rebellion and social and political change. The Reformation of the Church led by Martin Luther who wrote the 95 Theses impacted society’s belief about the main source of knowledge from the church to science and the Reformation made people's opinions develop and be known and allowed them to voice what they think.

In 1527, King Henry VIII of England filed for divorce from his wife, Catherine. As insignificant as this event may seem, it actually marked the beginning of a religious and political reform from the corrupted Roman Catholic Church: the English Reformation. The English Reformation wasn’t the only movement that led to the separation from the Catholic Church, though. The Protestant Reformation, starting only ten years before the English Reformation did, first recognized the corruption of the Catholic Church. The English Reformation noticed the corruptions of the Catholic Church, but was more focused on creating new political and religious authority. Both of these reformations relate to one another greatly, but are still considered to be individual movements. Papal authority was stripped during these reformations, and all of Europe lived differently afterwards. While Catholicism still existed after the reformations and is still practiced today, many new religions exist today as an effect of the reformations. The political power that the Church held diminished and was replaced by the English state. Both the Protestant Reformation and English Reformation impacted the political power and religion of the Catholic Church and all of Europe. Without these movements, Christian religion would not be what it is today.

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

As the Middle Ages came to an end, a religious revolution began to swell in western Europe. Criticism of the Catholic Church began to diminish the authenticity of Christianity as a whole and would later influence the final division of the Christian Church. This division would be led by Martin Luther and reformers alike across western Europe. The Protestant Reformation paved the way for a new and favored way of salvation among the Christian community and prolonged Europe’s ongoing social and political changes into the modern era.

The Reformation was a time of religious reform and development in Europe, which began with Martin Luther in 1517 and continued through the next hundred years into the seventeenth century. Various branches of Protestantism emerged during this time period, including Anabaptism, Anglicanism, and Calvinism, all of which differed in their views and influence upon Reformed Europe. Although Anabaptism, Anglicanism, and Calvinism all had an effect on Europe during the Reformation, Calvinism proved to be the most dynamic of these three movements because of its radical changes to the Christian doctrine which resulted the birth of the capitalist spirit, coupled with the development of a society which maintained a balance of church and state.

The Roman Catholic Church dominated religion for many years in Europe and became an extremely powerful institution. Over the years, the Roman church became corrupt and immoral in many ways. The development of the Protestant Reformation, Lutheranism, was greatly influenced by political events in the years proceeding the 16th century. The declared aim of the original reformer, Martin Luther, was to restore the Christian faith as it had been at its formation, while salvaging what he considered valuable from the Roman Catholic tradition that had developed during the previous centuries. Luther broke the unity of the Catholic Church forever by exposing their faults and misguided notions. Lutheranism spread quickly due to

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 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

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.