The Reformation Of The Church

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.

To begin, the past experiences of Erasmus and Luther affected their approach to reformation. Desiderius Erasmus was born in 1466 and died in 1536.

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.

Desiderius Erasmus was an orphan from the Netherlands, forced into monastic life because of poverty; yet, somehow, he became who most consider as one of the greatest humanists of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of rebirth starting in Italy. It is the period of time in Europe between the Middle Ages and modern time. During the Renaissance, there was a boost in arts, science, and intellectual activity. The Renaissance embraced humanism, an interest in human society and spread of ideas, and one of the greatest humanists was Desiderius Erasmus. Desiderius Erasmus was important to the Renaissance because of his theology, literature, and teachings.

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,

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.

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

Long before the reformation period,people within the church, both clergy and lay were keen for the church to eliminate all corrupt practices and for a reform,which would bring everyone closer to God. Those high up in church authority had ignored the concerns made by these reformers because they were personally gaining from practices like indulgences. However the sixteenth century split of protestant from the Catholic church became obvious and brought about bad publicity towards the church as the loss of members was a large concern, putting them under pressure to reform itself properly. The church responded in a very serious matter which resulted in the church starting

Renaissance was the period of great changes and was characterized by a revision of many concepts. The churches during the renaissance was being questioned by many scholars and one of the greatest scholar of this period Desiderius Erasmus, a Christian humanist and the second scholar was a monk from Germany named Martin Luther. The scholar Desiderius Erasmus was a dedicated Christian and advocated reforms within the church and spread the idea of pacifism. He questioned the church in many ideas and stated that people should live their own life and not always thinking about being saved.

By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not

The Reformation of the sixteenth century was not a surprise. Reformers inside of the medieval church, for example, St. Francis of Assisi, Valdes, Jan Hus, and John Wycliffe tended to viewpoints in the congregation's life in the hundreds of years before 1517. In the sixteenth century Erasmus of Rotterdam, an extraordinary humanist researcher, was the boss advocate of liberal Catholic change that assaulted well known superstitions in the congregation and encouraged the impersonation of Christ as the preeminent good educator. These figures uncover a progressing sympathy toward reestablishment inside of the congregation in the prior years Luther is said to have posted his Ninety-five Theses on the Castle's entryway Church, Wittenberg, Germany,

The renaissance was a period of change in the society. It was the rebirth of the world; a new age. It lasted from the 1300’s until the 1600’s. During that time period, there was something called the reformation, which also brought change to society. The renaissance and reformation have changed in three ways including religious, political, and social ways.

Three main basic challenges existed in Europe, leading to the need for reform of the Western church: moral failings of the church – across all levels of leadership, uncertainty toward theology and knowledge as Byzantine influence worked its way westward, and political and economic contentions between the church, secular structures of power, and the people. Along with the need for reform came ripeness for change in the form of the printing press, movement away from Latin to national languages, growing unrest of the peasantry, and the demise of the feudal system.

This assumption has all the evidence it needs to be upheld. Though millions of Catholics were brainwashed by higher-ranking church officials through cynical, selfish teachings, the reformation of the Catholic Church saved an immeasurable amount of lives by gaining religious freedom in Europe.