Protestant Reformation of Christianity Essay

The Protestant Reformation was in the early sixteenth century and was started when 95 theses were nailed to the door of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther was the man behind the 95 statements professing all that is wrong with the church and its members. Each thesis pointed out a part of the corruption that the Catholics had been taking part in. After being persecuted and thrown into jail, Luther started translating the Bible from Latin into German. The church disapproved because they wanted to keep the Bible only accessible to high ranking persons of the church. All of this led to the reformation which set a foothold for advancements in freedom in religion and culture.

The Catholic Church during the early 16th Century was rooted throughout Europe. The Church influenced every country and its respective monarchs through the Church’s wealth and power. The Catholic Church placed a tight hold on the general populace with individuals who went against the Church being branded as heretics and excommunicated. The wealth and power of the Church eventually caused the quality of the clergy to deteriorate. Priests became corrupt and subjected to their physical desires. They frequented taverns, gambled and kept mistresses. The reputation of the clergy were horrid as the general populace was relieved that “their priest [kept] a mistress” because it “[secured] their wives from seduction” The knowledge of the clergy degenerated as well as they were no longer required to learn and teach the Holy Scriptures because the Church dictated their actions. The pinnacle of the Church’s corruption was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence was the “extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment” sold by priests as a temporary relief from sins. The indulgences were then sold to the general populace for money as the monetization of a priest’s services. Johannes Tetzel was a prominent preacher of indulgences who relied on the money from the sales to subsidize the rebuilding of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. The corrupt sales did not go unnoticed as Martin Luther, in an effort to stop the corruption of the Church, posted the 95 Theses on the door of a Castle

The members of the Council of Trent realized the unfair abuses of the church, and called for reform. In this way, they were protecting themselves against criticism from Protestant reformers. A drastic reform of monastic orders was launched. The council acted against the abuse of indulgences while still upholding the principle. This meant that indulgences could not just be sold; indulgences were granted when an individual did something truly good. Also, bishops were to reside in their respective dioceses and attend more carefully to their duties, exercising more control over clergy. Pluralism was checked and steps were taken to make sure church officials were eligible for the job. In order to have an educated clergy, the council ordered that a seminary be set up in each diocese for priest training. More careful steps were to be taken to ensure the celibacy of clergy. The Council of Trent was able to eliminate many abuses of the

At the beginning of the sixteenth century the church was promptly losing respect due to the corruption and simony within the church. However when Johann Tetzel began to sell indulgences, many felt that the church had reached rock bottom. Due to this sale of indulgences, Martin Luther issued his 95 Theses which sparked a religious reformation movement that spread throughout Europe. During the reformation, religious, political, and social aspects were associated with the changes in the church, significantly affecting Europe.

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

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.

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era.

Protestant Reformation: (Also known as the Reformation) is when Martin Luther rebelled against the church by writing a book called “The Ninety-Five Theses.” Luther began to question and criticise the selling of indulgences, he insisted that the pope had no authority over purgatory and the Catholic doctrine of the Merits of the saints. This changed most of Western Europe.

The Medieval way of thinking, which gave kings absolute power and authority gave way to the Renaissance thinkers. These men not only brought their questions to the sciences and the arts, but also began questioning the corrupt practices of the church. The corrupt leaders of the Catholic church required their parishioners not only to tithe their money, but also to pay for the priests services, to buy indulgences when they sinned, and to pay for other services the church provided. The corrupt leaders in the church also engaged in immoral practices setting a poor example for the people who followed them. With the inquiring spirit of the Renaissance, the people began to question the immoral practices of the church, and the printing press spread

The Protestant Reformation and European expansion have both left political, social and economic impacts throughout history. The Protestant Reformation which was started in the 1500’s, by a Catholic man named Martin Luther caused political instability and fragmented the Holy Roman Empire. It economically caused the church to go bankrupt and socially allowed for the rise of individualism among the people; Luther gave the people of Europe the long needed reason to break free of the church. The Protestant Reformation and the need for new converts lead to the rise of European expansion. European expansion into the west resulted in a political increase of power for Europe, the social increase in slavery, disease and racism, as well as the

During sixteenth century Europe a wave of religious dissatisfaction swept the European continent. There were cries for the restructuring of the Catholic Church. These cries grew into more than just a simple remodeling of the Catholic faith they grew into the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther is credited for the reformation movement against the Catholic Church that began in 1517.

The intent of this paper is to evaluate the distinct character and quality of the expressions of the Protestant Reformation. This paper will discuss Lutheran Reformation, The Anabaptist, and The English Puritans as well as the Catholic Reformation also known as the Counter Reformation. It is the hope that after the reader has had the opportunity to view each of the characteristics and the expressions of each of the reformation the reader will have a better understanding of each and will be able to articulate the differences of each.

The Church and church officials could do almost anything without repercussions. This surge of power led church officials to misuse it and become corrupt. Church officials acted as if the words if the Pope was the #1 authority and preached his words as the words of the bible. Church officials even sold forgiveness and salvation from hell as indulgences. Catholic followers were forced to bring gifts and presents just to be able to

greed when the church was built and dressed so lavishly. There were rumors of corrupt

with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an