...The Protestant Reformation The Protestant Reformation was the 16th century religious and political revolution that disintegrated the Catholic Church. This reformation would define Europe in the modern era. Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII contested the Church’s power and its faculty to divide Christian religion. On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther published his “95 Theses” which led to start the Protestant Reformation, in which it stated Luther’s terms of his protest against the Catholic Church. Martin Luther argued that Jesus died on the cross for our salvation; therefore, there was no need for lavish cathedrals and offerings that the Catholic Church was accustomed to. Also, he was opposed to the practice of the church collecting indulgences in order to shorten ones stay in purgatory. These indulgences were said to pave the way to heaven for any sinner. In Martin Luther’s 95 Theses the mentions the following: “Those who believe that, through letters of pardon, they are made sure of their own salvation will be eternally dammed along with their teacher”. After the Church’s unsuccessful rebuttal, they ended up excommunicating Luther in 1521. Luther went on to translating the bible into vernacular German, which up to this point was only in Latin and only available to priests who were they only ones who read and interpreted the bible to the masses. Luther’s translation was not word for word but rather sense for sense, which would help ordinary people, read the bible...
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...During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the protestant reformation jumpstarted a trend that would challenge the order of the Christian faith and increase the sense of responsibility in true believers. During this period those blessed with wealth had clergy and others connected with the church in their pocket. Sins were forgiven at the right price as many bought their way into gods favor. However those honest and true worshipers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin could see through this charade and shined light on an obvious but hidden truth through their writings, namely Luther, Freedom of a Christian, 95 Theses and Calvin’s selections from Articles Concerning Predestination and On the Necessity of Reforming the Church. The bible is a written guide for a Christ fearing man to follow, however society had forgotten the rules and regulations that is their foundation and it is up to them to restore order. Understandably this ruffled a few feathers as those that identified with abusing their power could see what a threat these men imposed by simply saying to move forward we must look back to simpler life. Martin Luther was a firm believer in his faith and did not take lightly to those who claimed to be Christians but did not understand what it is to actually be a Christian. Luther spells out what faith is by saying, “… people have considered Christian faith an easy thing, and not a few have given it a place among the virtues. They do this because they have not experienced...
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...Social and Political Consequences of the Protestant Reformation The Catholic Church had become increasingly corrupt due to the selling of indulgences, clerical ignorance, pluralism and absenteeism. In desperate need of improvement and restructuring, a man named Martin Luther began a religious reformation. Luther was opposed to the selling of indulgences, believed the key to salvation was by faith alone and that the scriptures of the bible held all authority. The ideals of Martin Luther, radically different from those of the Roman Catholic Church, created a religious reform disturbing politics throughout Europe and changing society. Numerous political effects occurred because of the Protestant Reformation, which consequently happened because of Luther’s reforms. The area that was affected most by the Reformation was Germany. Luther was favored there and he gained support by appealing to German patriotism and evoking a national pride and feeling that influenced many princes. Luther stated that the only way Reformation could come about was by the princes to abolish papal power. This happened when Charles V excommunicated Luther and the German princes did not enforce the banning of Luther’s teachings. Charles V was also to blame for the disintegration of imperial authority because during his reign, he never took an interest in the constitutional problems of Germany that were left over from the Middle Ages. Germans princes used the religious issues as a way to extend political...
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...1517, the Protestant Reformation made significant changes on Western civilization. It altered the way people worshipped God and allowed for people to establish their own belief system. The Protestant Reformation allowed for a new definition of what it means to be civilized in Europe. People discovered, and took advantage of their freedom of religion. The Reformation did in fact contribute to a more civilized society because of its development of religious diversity, and its gradual separation between church and state. One of Martin Luther’s teachings states “On the matter of religious practice, is it better to follow one’s conscience?” (Notes Packet - The Reformation Begins; Mr. Johnson) Obviously,...
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...Ever since its founding in the 1st century C.E., Christianity has caused political and religious controversy in countries all over the world. From the original split between Christians and the Jews, to the fracturing of the Catholic Church in Germany, religion has been a vital tool for social and political change, especially in England. Although the Protestant Reformation was a dividing force in Europe, the dominant English monarchs of the 16th century used it to their advantage. King Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I used religion to pursue their agenda, solidify their reign and unify England. Prior to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church was a unified body with the Pope at its head. However, when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses,...
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...Protestant & Catholic Reformation On October 31st 1517, Martin Luther started the beginning of the Protestant Revolution by posting his 95 theses at Wittenberg’s castle. These 95 theses argued on the power and efficacy of indulgences and explained the fundamentals of justification by faith. Thus opened the eyes of the people who had begun to question centuries of Catholic beliefs. Luther and his supporters believed that the Church had been corrupted by power and wealth and therefore it needed to change for the better, however, the Church held strong to their own beliefs. With the constant attacks from the Protestants they fought back in what is known as the Counter-Reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation. The goal of both reformations was to change the same basic cores of the Church that had been lost. The Protestant Revolution depicts the church as ruled in a totalitarian and authoritarian way by corrupt popes. They viewed the selling of indulgences, which had been initially given to people who went on the crusades, as a commercial exploitation to raise funds for non-religious purposes. The Catholic Church on the other hand, viewed this practice as a way of salvation for the community of Christian believers. Most of the funds raised by the selling of indulgences were used to build St. Peter’s Church. Luther’s followers and other Protestants believed that this was not a religious cause but a way to please the pope’s desire to show his superiority. Luther’s belief...
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...Joint-stock company- a new form of business organization spread into the commercial world with many investors. when the demand rose so did the profit. this made clear that one only owes another the money they had. this drifted away from traditional strict regulations of the economy for social reciprocity Protestant Reformation- started because of Luther’s revolt, it changed christianity forever and made lutheranism the state religion in Scandinavian countries, and calvinism competed with catholicism and reformed church of england in france and the netherlands, leaving states with nations of germany and switzerland for catholics, lutherans and calvinists Catholic or Counter-Reformation- a response to the protestant reformation. MAry I tried...
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...In the early 16 century the Roman catholic church and by extension its clergy came under heavy criticism. This was due to their financial, legal dealing; as well as change in popular opinion to the convention Catholic concepts of salvation. Along with other contributing factors led to the Protestant Reformation. Some of the contributing factors included criticism of the church, the teachings of Martin Luther, England’s shift towards Protestantism, and Calvinism. As stated earlier the growing resentment towards the basic tenants of Catholicism helped Protestant Reformation appeal to various groups across Europe. We will examine the contributing factors and how the led to mass appeal across Europe in a more exhaustive manner in the paragraphs...
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...Although Martin Luther and the King of England, Henry VIII, were very different individuals with distinct beliefs, they were both able to create significant changes during the Reformation. Both of them focused on the doings of the church, whether it was because of political or religious doctrines. The abuse and the desire of power lead to many disputes among the people of Europe and eventually became a national phenomenon. They both brought religious change to the country of Europe however; Luther was disgusted at the corruption of the church while on the other hand Henry created religious controversy in his desperation to have a male heir. Martin Luther did not fully agree with certain aspects of the church therefore he established his own beliefs and managed to gain many followers during the Reformation. One of Luther’s most important arguments was his opposition to the selling of indulgences, when the Pope was basically making money off of sacred artifacts. It disgusted Luther to see how many people believed that a piece of a paper could actually help you achieve salvation and so he created the Ninety-Five Theses. He expressed the idea that salvation could be achieved by faith alone in an attempt to stop people from buying the false hope of indulgences. He caused major upheaval when he refused to recant his statements in the Diet of Worms, creating tension between the people who wanted him dead for opposing the church and those who praised him and shared his beliefs....
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...The Protestant Reformation officially began in 1517 when Martin Luther challenged the Roman Church. Martin Luther gave his ninety-five theses, that’s when The Reformation bought people to America, and The Reformation also helped establish the Constitution of the United States. The 16th century was given by God to be the time of reformation, and had prepared the Church in many ways for this reformation. Religious, economic and political factors. There were also groups outside the Roman Church that opposed the Church. Dozens of Protestant denominations were born of the Reformation. Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Church of Christ, and Mormons would influence the American Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was the greatest religious...
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...The Protestant Reformation was the dawn of multiple ideas, as it inspired people to see the Roman Catholic Church in a new light. Multiple new religions were brought up and new philosophical thoughts were spawned. Then, along came the Peasants’ Revolt of 1524-1526 in Germany. This savage war was not only sprung up from the religious ideas of Martin Luther, but also from the dissatisfaction of peasants about their poor working conditions and the unfair treatment from their lords. German peasants had been displeased of their living conditions with being continuously faced with ludicrous feudal dues and state taxes. Upon hearing Martin Luther’s remarks, the peasants’ economic troubles and religious beliefs? combined to be the sparks that were...
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...The Protestant Reformation The Protestant Reformation was a noteworthy sixteenth century European development pointed first at improving the convictions and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Its religious viewpoints were supplemented by aggressive political rulers who needed to augment their energy and control to the detriment of the Church. The Reformation finished the solidarity forced by medieval Christianity and, according to numerous students of history, showed the start of a new period. A debilitation of the old ways was at that point under path in Northern Europe, as proven by the development of flourishing new urban communities and a decided white collar class. Martin Luther disagreed with aspects of Roman Catholic religious...
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...As it was stated in Luther and the Protestant Reformation: Crash Course World History, Martin Luther was a key player that shaped the reformation. The reform of the church was something that is known as a paradigm shift. A paradigm shift is a revolution of thoughts and ideas that displace the norms that had existed previously (Williams, 1.3). Before the reformation, Roman Catholicism was the single most common religion of its time. (Protestant Reformation: Crash Course World History, Martin Luther). During this time, the church itself stressed two things that would give a person righteousness. The first being human effect and the second was God’s grace ( A History of Western Society, pg. 388). Martin Luther believed that salvation and righteousness...
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...Luther when he pinned his 95 Theses to the wall of a church. What would follow is the formation of sects within Christianity that continue to shape the modern world. While this conflict is known as the “Protestant Reformation,” it quickly became a revolution due to its violent and surprisingly, political and economic nature. Similarly, a century later, The French Revolution sought to overthrow the nation’s head: the king. By analyzing these conflicts through a sociological lens, these social movements can be compared and contrasted....
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...Ulrich Zwingli was born on January 1, 1484, in Switzerland, and died on October 11, 1531, in Switzerland. Zwingli was an important person in the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. He was the father of the Reformation in Switzerland, and he was overshadowed by Martin Luther. The only reformer that his reformation was not involved in the church. Zwingli father was a free peasant who was a village magistrate, his mother was the sister of the abbot of Fischingen in Thurgau, and his uncle was a priest of Wildhaus and then a dean of Wesen. Zwingli went to school at Wesen, in 1494 he moved to Basel, and he moved to Bern in 1496. Zwingli moved again to the University of Vienna in 1498, and then he moved back to Basel in 1502, where he graduated...
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