I. The Protestant Reformation in Europe was a reform movement that occurred during the sixteenth century which divided the Western Christian church into Catholic and Protestant groups. Although the Reformation occurred in the sixteenth century earlier events of the late fourteenth and fifteenth century created the environment for the Reformation to occur. The Reformation was started by Martin Luther, who was a monk and professor who lectured the Bible (Duiker, World History, 421). There were four major factors that lead to The Protestant Reformation in Europe: The Great Schism which caused discontent among people and damaged Christian faith (Duiker, World History, 377), The Renaissance that opened up new growing opportunities for the lower …show more content…
During this period the Renaissance Popes failed to fulfill the churches spiritual needs, and they were often involved in worldly concerns such as Pope Julius II who was a “warrior pope” leading armies into battle. Christians were disgusted, they viewed the Pope as their spiritual leader, someone to lead them spiritually not into battle with the enemy. The church failed as many of the church officials were ignorant of their spiritual duties and more concerned with accumulating more wealth, and the use of their position within the church offices to their advantage to further advance their careers and fortunes. (Duiker, World History, 421) While the spiritual leaders of the church were failing their responsibilities many of the people were looking for some sort of meaningful religious expression and most importantly salvation after death. Many of these people sought salvation through the veneration of relics (bones and objects associated with saints), many of these relics were attached to indulgences, which was a form veneration. Indulgences were said to reduce a person’s time in purgatory after death from punishment due to sin by nearly two million years. Johann Tetzel was a monk who was great selling of indulgences with the slogan “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs” meaning that as soon as someone pays, and the coin is in the money box the person or their loved ones would be saved from purgatory. This led to a lowly monk named Martin Luther who lectured the Bible to take action on behalf of the people, he was very upset with the selling of indulgences because he believed salvation was not obtained through good works but by grace and faith alone, (Justification by faith). This became the main doctrine for the Protestant Reformation. Deeply angered Martin Luther wrote indictments of the abuses
The Protestant Reformation was a cultural and political change that splintered the Catholic Church in Europe. Reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. The person that had the most responsibility for this rebellion is Martin Luther. People agreed with his beliefs against the catholic church and they followed him. The Protestant Reformation affected people a lot by either unifying them or dividing them.
Martin Luther was a Catholic monk at the University of Wittenberg in Germany. Luther was unhappy with the practice of selling indulgences (a pardon releasing a sinner from performing a penalty in exchange for money), so, on October 31, 1517, he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. These Theses were intended to encourage discussion about indulgences, but, with the help of the printing press, Luther’s 95 Theses gave rise to the Protestant Reformation (Document B).
During the 16th century in Europe, the beginning of a reformation occurred that still affects us to this day. This shift in ideas and action caused wars, persecutions, and brought about a counter reformation. This event is known as the Protestant Reformation. Although many people attribute the reformation beginning with Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the church door in 1517, there were signs of reform stirring in the church before that.
During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the countries of Europe began to develop a rift. This was caused by a movement known as the Reformation. The Reformation was jump-started by the posting of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. Luther urged for the reform of the Catholic Church and its ideas. The proponents of his reform convinced many of the common people to reconsider the foundations of their religious beliefs, as well as the structures of their communities.
The Protestant Reformation had a huge impact in all Europe in the sixteen century, but which ones were the factors that lead to it? It is very important to highlight that the European Christianity was falling into a noticeable corruption of its popes and some other high position members. Robbery, and even warriors were among of some factors that took the Cristian Church to a declining path. One of these examples was the Pope Julius II, which one won the nickname “the warrior pope” because he led armies against people. Furthermore, the church was not the only factor promoting this reformation, some other social changes were occurring with the masses in Europe; many of the peasants were being free especially in the western Europe.
Protestant Reformation Protestant Reformation was a European Christian movement. This movement, led by Martin Luther reformed the Roman Catholic Church practices and begin Protestantism. The reformation started because of the corruption of Roman Catholic Church. The corruption that begin the protestant reformation was phony relics and indulgences. The church priests would sell these relics to poor people knowing that they were fake and build on lies only to make money for the church.
The Protestant Reformation began with a movement made by a monk simply to criticize and challenge the actions of the Church. From the disapproval of selling indulgence to the demand of equality, multiple forces have sparked the inception of the Protestant Revolution. Martin Luther’s decision to take public stand against the Church was revolutionary to the society. A movement for religious reforms, known as the Protestant Reformation, was born. Luther’s beliefs were soon adopted by and appealed to every levels of society.
The Protestant and English reformation were both reforms that took place in the 16th century against the Roman Catholic Church. Comparatively these reformations are alike and different in some sense. For example, Two leaders led these reforms and went against the church’s beliefs for different purposes. For personal reasons , King Henry VIII went against the church, whereas Martin Luther knew the church could not offer him salvation amongst other reasons. Before becoming a monk, Martin Luther was once a law student .
The Protestant Reformation was important in European History because with it came a Counter-Reformation. The Reformation revealed corruption in the Church, such as buying and selling salvation—indulgences—for profit, simony, and the overall battles for power and wealth (within the Church). Martin Luther and John Calvin were crusaders for the reformation and were able to share their ideas and beliefs effectively; they were then accepted/recognized by the people—the educated and uneducated, the middle class and nobility. Luther and Calvin’s beliefs allowed for other people to find a sense of freedom and individualism in religion.
In the 1500s, there was a movement called the Reformation, which basically changed the thinking about the churches. There was a man named Martin Luther, one day he visited Rome, and what was happening there digusted him, the people of Rome were buying indulgences. The people were told that if you indulgences, then that was your get out of hell free card, meaning you didn’t have to go to purgatory or anything. Also you had to visit religious artifacts which also helped with your sins. Now that didn’t seem right to Luther, because according to the bible, the only way God could forgive was through faith.
Martin Luther was strict about these rules of the Protestant Reformation. He felt that people should confess their sins, and depending on how bad the sin is, he thinks that God should judge it. Simultaneously, he didn’t believe that “indulgences,” or state of satisfaction, can pay off the price for one’s sin because he believes that it is not holy nor righteous (“Martin Luther”). In the end, this movement was spread to many countries of Europe such as Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and many
The reading section on Martin Luther describes the process of repentance and salvation for Catholics. The process begins with "a remorse for sin" and a desire for repentance, to which the individual goes to a priest to confess their sins, and once they confess their sins, they enact penance. The readings describe penance as a "reciting of prayers, fasting, or pilgrimage" (“Section 12: Martin Luther”). During this time, another act of penance was the practice of indulgences, a way to pay for one's sins to the Church or to pay someone out of purgatory. Many critics of the Church arose and adamantly opposed the practice of indulgences.
One of the ways the Renaissance was its on time period was during this time the Catholic church was very corrupt. According to AJ Froude, in “Life and Letters of Erasmus” it states “The world is waking out of a long deep sleep. The old ignorance is still defended. Time was when learning was only found in the religious orders. The religious orders nowadays care only for money and sensuality, while learning has
The new form of Christianity played a major role during the Renaissance period. As people discover a new way of thinking, they began to question many of the teachings present in medieval Christianity. The new form of Christianity ran by Martin Luther’s was well known by the Protestant Reformation, however; with many Catholics and Protestants wanting a change in the church they campaigned for a shift from the medieval learning and medieval form of Christianity. However, a complete overview of the doctrines was not consented by all within the church. Many Catholics wanted to reform the church from within, but Martin Luther and his follower disagreement of church policies led him to break away from the Catholic Church.
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.