Cause Of The Protestant Reformation Essay

The Protestant Reformation began on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther proposed 95 Theses and ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. This label, “Protestant Reformation”, generally refers to a series of theological revolts against the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation can be broken down into four different subcategories, all which have their own personalities and slightly differ in beliefs which is why it is best to looks at each these divisions separately to best capture their intentions. The epitome of Protestant theology and what set it apart from the Catholicism can be described best with five essential doctrines. First is sola scriptua (scripture alone). This asserts that Christian Scriptures are the highest, most supreme authority on all matters. Second is sola fides (faith alone) which states that believers are justified in Christ by faith and not by their works or by following of Law. Third is sola gratia (grace alone); believers are saved by God’s grace which He gives freely to the faithful. According the this doctrine, doing good works will not help you attain salvation. Fourth is solos christus (Christ alone) which says that salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ. Last is soli doe gloria (For the glory of God alone); believers are to give glory to God, and only God. Protestants and Catholics also differ in the sacraments that they recognize; sacraments are, “outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification”

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

Throughout the Middle Ages the Catholic Church was subject to much criticism and disappointment. The Great Schism brought about a feeling of mistrust and separation. More and more people of Europe were beginning to lose their faith in the church's leadership. One man by the name of Martin Luther ignited a group of people who believed that the Church had fallen away from the teachings of Jesus and their meanings. They also believed that the Church was overly obsessed with money. These believed faults compelled Luther to take action. In 1517, on the eve of All Saint's Day, Luther posted up on the doors of Wittenberg Cathedral, ninety-five problems with the Church. They are more popularly known as the

A long history of corruption caused people to view the Catholic Church as a for-profit organization rather than God’s voice on Earth. By the Renaissance, the Catholic Church had already lost much of its power over secular rulers but still held leverage over the masses. This authority naturally paved the way for corruption. The most outrageous form of corruption practiced by the Church was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved. One of the ways the Church would generate income was by selling them. The notion started off innocently enough; it stemmed from the idea that punishment for crimes could be converted to payments of money, in essence, a fine (Simon 35). However, it soon spiraled out of control as the Church used indulgences simply to gain money, as when Pope Leo X needed money for the construction of St. Peter’s basilica (Duiker and Spielvogel 429). People began to view salvation as something that could be bought; they could go out and sin on Saturday night, then simply pay for it monetarily Sunday morning. To encourage people to buy more indulgences, the Church even claimed that indulgences could be bought on behalf of those already dead and in purgatory (Sporre 378). This blatant victimization was what spurred Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses,

One of the leading factor that contributed to the protestant reformation was the corruption of the Catholic church. The church had control of not only religion but politics, money, music, arts and etc. Eventually, the church slowly began to take advantage of everyone. They began by selling indulgences to people so they could pay to be forgiven of sin.

In a time where Europe was flourishing between the 14th and 17th centuries with their cultural development of the art and sciences, there was a huge schism in the Catholic Church that was originally created by Martin Luther. The Protestant Reformation was initiated in 1517 when the Ninety-five Theses was posted in Saxony, Germany by Luther. Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk who criticized the Church and the papacy and laid the theological reform for the church and the pope’s authority which broke the unity of Christianity. Germany, where he resided, saw many advantages breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church. No longer wanting to be taxed by the church, the princes of the country could gain economic power by establishing their own

During the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, religion was beginning to be reevaluated. Anxiety and confusion erupted out of the Protestant Reformation because Catholicism was being questioned by a myriad of people. This led to an increase in religious violence, events like the Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre and the Thirty Years' War being prime examples of how new religions created tensions in Europe. These tensions created a need for a scapegoat, as the negative aspects of the Reformation could not be associated with the pioneers of the movement. Due to a heightened sense of divine power and new ideas about witchcraft, people, mainly women, were targeted and persecuted as witches.

Throughout the Middle Ages, many argued that the church had become too wealthy and powerful. Christian humanists of the 1400s and 1500s urged social, political, and religious church reforms throughout Europe. These various changes to the church became known as the Protestant Reformation. However, with the many changes being brought to the church, some of the members of the upper class pushed back and started the Counter-Reformation. These opposing ideas created conflicts in Germany as well as other countries in Europe. The German Peasants’ War of 1525 was caused by the oppression of the peasants by nobles and the upper class. This is best represented through grievances expressed by the lay people, fear expressed by the gentry, and the report of events from all citizens.

In “Religious Upheaval”, the power point lecture informs the readers how religion played a major role in the 16th century. As most may know, the Catholic church in our history was very strong and big but also corrupts. The power point explains multiple corruption methods they used like purchasing indulgences for the future. People like Martin Luther began to question these beliefs. Purchasing your way to heaven was definitely not a method most people agreed with especially the poor. This started a new way of religious behavior from the people, soon Luther began “Lutheranism” which grew across Europe. Puritans also began in England and spread throughout. At the same time period, slavery trade began to take over. Slaves were sold in America,

During the Age of Reformation people were greatly against the abuses that existed in the Roman Catholic Church. A couple of abuses that were greatly stressed were the selling of indulgences, simony, and nepotism. It was some of these same abuses that prompted German reformist Martin Luther to write his 95 Theses. And for the Council of Trent to later address them in a series of meetings. The most criticized abuse of the Roman Catholic Church was the selling of indulgences by the pope. Indulgences permitted people to buy release from time in purgatory for both themselves and their deceased loved ones. They were papers sold in order to bring remission of punishment due to sins. Another common abuse that existed in the Church was simony. Simony is the act of selling of Church positions. The Church had permitted important ecclesiastical posts to be sold to the highest bidders and had left residency requirements in the religious community unenforced. A last abuse of the Church is nepotism. Nepotism is the act of giving jobs to family members instead of giving it to more qualified workers. This was a common problem where a well-trained and dedicated worker was needed and not just anyone. In 1517, when reformist Martin Luther wrote an indictment of the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church called the 95 Theses, he appealed to many people across Europe. In his indictment he greatly criticized and addressed the selling of indulgences above all. At first, a person would have to do work

Europe during the 16th century went through many changes. Due to the Renaissance and Humanism, Europe would see a great change in its structure, thus throwing itself into an age of creative individualism. The Renaissance infused Humanism into government and gave every man a right to his own will and future. This century also saw growth in the form of new lands, reformed government, and technological advances such as the printing press, which could not have arrived at a more perfect time. Europe was more literate and eager to learn than ever before, which can be credited to the Renaissance, and rapid growth of university. The mid 1500s also marked the beginning of the Scientific Revolution. All of these things considered, the Protestant Reformation may have been the most revolutionary event for Europe in the 16th century. It changed the way humans think about the Catholic Church and its politics. The importance of this reformation could not have been better stated than by Steven Kris in his lecture on the Protestant Reformation:

During the Protestant Reformation, three groups of people contributed to this 16th Century upheaval. First, the common people/ laborers. They considered their local priests and bishops their direct connection to God. However, the commoners considered these priests part of the gentry, causing an “endemic dissatisfaction” (Palmer 77) among the commoners. Their religious desire for a reformation, combined with a desire for social reformation. This particular group found meaning to their cause in the great peasant rebellion of 1520. Secondly, the middle class, a group of better-educated men who did not believe in the hierarchy of the church. Most of them came from little autonomous republics in which they managed their own public and social affairs and wished to also manage their own religious affairs. They believed the Roman Catholic Church fixated itself too much in the feudal and monarchical system which they did not agree with. Lastly, the princes, and sovereign rulers. 16th Century Europe always had a dispute for power, while the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor fought to see who had the final authority, the princes, and the monarchs wanted to have total power over their territories. Eventually, power defined what religion should prevail in such territories. While these three groups of people aided to the cause of the Protestant Reformation, there would not have been one, or at least not soon enough, if people like John Wycliffe, John Huss, and Desiderius Erasmus had not

"The Reformation of the sixteenth century is, next to the introduction of Christianity, the greatest event in history. It marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times. Starting from religion, it gave, directly or indirectly, a mighty impulse to every forward movement, and made Protestantism the chief propelling force in the history of modern civilization” Quoted by Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church.

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that changed the Catholic Europe forever, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would greatly affect us today. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged the Church’s authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to Christian practice. They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible- and pamphlet-reading pastors and princes. The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants.

The conditions of the Church in the early 16th century that made the Reformation possible and probable.