The ideas of the Protestant reformation of the 1500’s had been in the minds of peasants for years because of the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. Many people felt the clergy (church members) had taken advantage of the people, by becoming wealthy while the people were poor and hungry. There was also a rising sense of nationalism in Europe, that combined with the anger of the economic and political demands made by the Church, further angered the people. The church was spending money in many ways. The Pope was competing for political power in Italy, and had to fight off invasions from other countries. In addition, Pope Leo X (son of Lorenzo de Medici), was a great patron (contributes money) of arts and artists to create very expensive works, however the Pope paid for the art with the Church’s money. The church paid for this by having the peasants pay higher tithes (taxes to the church) and increasing the cost of baptisms and marriages. The use of indulgences was also a major reason people wanted a reform. An indulgence is a pardon for their sins. In 1517, German priest Martin Luther, son of a peasant miner, began a revolt that became the Reformation. Luther, who had been a student of law, had an epiphany (a dream). In a storm, Luther looked for shelter, for he thought …show more content…
The money being raised from the indulgences was to help build St. Peter 's Basilica in Rome. Tetzel told the people the purchase of the indulgences would save them and guarantee them to heaven. After seeing this, Luther wrote a list of 95 Theses, a list of arguments against indulgences. The complaints were nailed to the door of the Wittenberg cathedral. Luther’s main complaints were first, there were no basis for indulgences in the Bible, second, they had no authority to free souls from purgatory, and third, Christians could only be saved from
However, Henry VIII’s motive to break away from the church stemmed from his desire for a son and Luther’s motive stemmed from the church’s corruption. Although both their methods to bring about change during the reformation succeeded, their beliefs had consequences. Luther unintentionally spurred the ideas of the Peasant Wars, where the lower class wanted to dissolve the social hierarchy and hoped that he would support their actions. However, Luther refused to be associated with their rebellion and asked the princes to crush them. His actions led to the fragmentation of Germany and his support from the German princes.
In the 1400s, the Church and religion were big focus points of daily lives for most people. However, as their influence continued to grow, the seeds of corruption began to sprout. Some people wanted change, including a monk by the name of Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a monk and professor at the University of Wittenberg who lectured on the Bible. However, while reading and preaching from the Bible, he found that faith was the key to salvation and not what the priests were saying.
Assignment 1: 1. The sources of religious discontent that preceded the Reformation was the people’s unhappiness with the selling of the offices of the church, clergy members holding more than one office, the selling of indulgences, church taxation, absenteeism, the literate and uneducated priests, and nepotism among the clergy. Additionally, the fact that most clergy was exempt from tax but could own property upset the people. 2. Luther’s intentions and actions of the 95 thesis to the Peace of Augsburg was to tell the Archbishop Albert that the indulgences were making penance insignificant, going against what was in the Gospels, and taking the importance of charity out of Christian’s lives.
Luther’s radical new ideas regarding religion excited the peasants of the German states and his ideas stated in documents such as his 95 theses acted as a catalyst for the revolts that erupted in the lower class between the years 1524 and 1526. Peasants believed the cause of these revolts were the mistreatment they received from their lords and ruling princes. Their acts of revolution were largely based on new radical ideas surrounding religion, and some even saw it as God’s will. A third cause cited by the peasants was a need for their release from serfdom.
The influence of religion during the Reformation was a manifestation of the conflict of criticism toward the Catholic Church that shaped the events of the age. Although the peasants were primarily motivated towards economic and political justice, the Reformation introduced the German peasants to independent ideas and generated a movement against the nobility, as well as tying into the countermovement of the German peasant revolts of 1524 and 1525. Instead of seeking refuge in feudal authority, the peasants of Germany reflected religious ideas in their revolution by appealing to God’s authority. As the hold of the church's influence over society declined from the conflict of the Reformation, the leaders of the revolts optimized the growing animosity to generate support for the revolts. Correspondingly, religion expressed the
The 95 Theses, which were courteously written to the Pope, denounced the sale of Papal Indulgences and attracted the attention of German aristocrats who were tired of paying so much to the Church. Due to the printing press, Luther’s 95 Theses were printed quickly and translated into many different languages so that his writing became available and popular throughout Germany. The Pope responded to Luther’s accusations by mandating that Luther recant. Luther then realized that the Church was far more corrupt than he thought, so he announced that the Pope and Catholic Church had been wrong in the past and were wrong again at that time.
A large portion of this pertained to the Catholic church selling indulgences which were, as described by the Church, a full or partial pardoning of sin that could be used to free anyone of transgression, especially late friends and family. One reading explains that a huge problem in Luther’s eyes was that people no longer felt that they had to go any further for forgiveness once an indulgence was purchased because they saw it as a “catch-all” system. People could pay for salvation instead of relying on faith. Luther believed sola fida, that Christ’s salvation should be achieved through faith alone, and not by giving the church money (moodle reading April
In 1520, Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, and he and his followers – the majority of whom were peasants - became known as Protestants. Inspired by Luther and his ideas, the peasants revolted against their lords. Initially arising as a call for change and justice, the peasant revolt took a violent turn and brought to light the contrasting views and values of Christianity, which ultimately led to the destruction of a unified Catholic Church and Europe. Clergy supporting
1. The Reformation was a period where men like Martin Luther challenged the teachings and authority of the Roman Catholic Church. However, before the Reformation, the Church had to deal with problems such as the Sack of Rome. In 1527, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, had his own troops come against the city of Rome, take the city over, and imprison Pope Clement VII. While the Church was trying to deal with outer conflicts, there was a problem that was rising from within.
The Reformation was a time in Europe in the 1500s in which people questioned the beliefs of the Catholic Church. There were many changes made by the catholic church. The people that were responsible were Martin Luther, John Calvin and King Henry VIII. The Protestant Reformation of 16th century Europe was primarily the result of three men and their disagreements with the Catholic Church; Martin Luther, John Calvin, and King Henry VIII forever changed the religious landscape of Europe.
Luther led the Protestant Reformation. He and a few theologians were beginning to question the teaching of the Catholic Church. The Church would grant absolution to sinners in exchange for a trade. It’s said that on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his disputation on the power and Efficacy of indulgences to the door of the Wittenberg castle church. Luther’s main idea was to get the message across, not accuse.
An indulgence was a donation to the church that came with a promise from the pope to reduce a sinner’s time in purgatory. Seeing his parishioners handing over money they did not have, did not sit well with Luther. All for a paper that he believed to be pointless. So he replied with the 95 Theses against indulgences and then placed them to the church door for all to see on October 31, 1517. This led to a number of debates with other men of the strong opinion, during this time Luther 's positions became increasingly harsh.
Many reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliff, and John Calvin played prominent roles in sixteenth-century Europe; they helped to reform Catholic churches and change the Europeans’ ways of thinking. “The Reformation was a rejection of the secular spirit of the Italian Renaissance” is a true statement. The main goal of the religious reformation was to bring back the former beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which were based off of the bible; this went against the Renaissance ideas. Martin Luther was one of the many important reformers in sixteenth century Europe. Luther helped to completely change the church systems by writing his 95 theses.
As a preface, those who had stood by the side of the Roman Catholic Church had enough with this institution that sought nothing, but power. Church officials took the people’s pure desire for salvation and scammed them into buying it instead. Ignorance is regularly the cause of such manipulation. The Protestant Reformation was effective in promoting the progress of mankind when it came to faith. Although it proved to be troublesome, particularly because of the splitting of the church, it was beneficial for those in the future.
Unquestionably, the most prevalent causes of the Reformation were indulgences, the changing values of the Renaissance, and, above all, corruption within the church. Indulgences involved the selling of soul blessings to go straight to heaven rather than to purgatory, and individuals could buy them for themselves or family members. The selling of indulgences generated dispute and disagreement between the people and the clergy. Martin Luther and many other people who were opposed to the selling of indulgences claimed that because indulgences were not mentioned in the Bible, they were considered invalid.