Protestant Reformation Dbq

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

Religion was understood as the upmost critical part of a person’s life during the European Middle Ages. Christians believed the only way to Heaven was through good works. To gain penance for their sins, Christians would travel on pilgrimages to complete a journey to a holy site. When popes began to abuse papal authority during this time, Christians could pay indulgences to be forgiven of their committed sins. Papal authority had been corrupted by practices which were not Biblical through proposing that Christians could be saved by payment, and not by accepting God’s grace. Because of these actions, attention was drawn to the foundations of the doctrine of the Church. The Church was in need of fixing. Two reformers, Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther, spoke out to do this. Both Erasmus and Luther desired to reform the church because they had similar viewpoints on the abusive power. The way that the two decided to go about reformation was different. Erasmus was poor, humanist, and reserved, whereas Luther was not poor, a theologian, and bold. Although Erasmus and Luther shared a common goal for Christians to live by the scripture, similarities and differences were present in their approach to church reform due to their past experiences, education received, and amount of audacity.

A major 16th century movement initially aimed at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformation was begun by a German monk named Martin Luther who challenge the Catholic Church’s doctrine by posting his 95 Theses on a church door. He did this because he was appalled that the church was selling indulgences, which were written letters that assured people’s salvation, in order to build a new Basilica in Rome under Pope Leo X. Martin Luther argued that the Bible, not the pope, was the central means to discern God’s word and was the only thing capable of giving salvation.

The protestant reformation was a significant turning point during the 16th century that completely revolutionized the Roman Catholic Church. The “reformation” was launched in 1517 when a German monk by the name of Martin Luther posted his “95 Theses” on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. The main ideas of this publication was that selling and buying indulgences was wrong and that the pope has no power over purgatory. These 95 revolutionary opinions formed the basis for the protestant reformation which revolutionized western civilization over the next three centuries. Although most people believe these reforms only affected religion, the reformation also impacted political life. Politics played an enormous role in the reformation due to the fact that political rulers wanted to extend their power and control using the church. Throughout the course of the protestant reformation, political authorities such as Emperor Charles V and Henry

The Reformation took place during the time of the Renaissance. There was a split in the Catholic Church and Protestantism, a new form of Christianity, began. Martin Luther was a monk that began studying the Bible and began wondering about the accuracy of the Catholic Church practices. As he studied the Bible, he began finding many areas where the Catholic Church and the Bible differed. He decided to fully dedicate his life to the Gospel and it's teachings.

“When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs”, as Friar Tetzel would claim. Clergymen advertised that buying indulgences will rid you of sin and reduce the time you spent in purgatory. A religious movement known as the Protestant reformation brewed in 16th century Europe over the absurdity of indulgences. The sale of indulgences posed a major issue prior to and during the movement. Martin Luther sparked the movement with his publication of his The 95 Theses, a series of points which displayed the corruption of the church. As his 66th point states, “The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.” Luther is arguing that indulgences only serve as a means of generating wealth for

Martin Luther poked at the Church practice of the sale of indulgences, which was the full or partial grant of the forgiveness and pardoning of the penalties of sin. He did this with the 95 Theses. The 95 Theses were ideas that Luther posted on the Church doors in Wittenburg, Germany stating that he wanted the Catholic Church to change their current corrupted ways. “To Luther, the sale of indulgences made a mockery of God’s gifts, so he took a stance against the abuses of the Church with his work.” The situation surrounding the theses were the activities of the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was highly criticized by Luther in his work because it became too powerful and there was corruption in the system. The Church became less religious and became more of a political entry, making the Church ruthless. Luther believed that the Church should become concerned about the general well-being of the Catholic people and that salvation should be for everybody, not for the people who buy their way in using indulgences. In Concerning Christian Liberty, he discussed the wrongs, like corruption, of the Catholic Church to Pope Leo X. “You see, however, which is called the Court of Rome, and which neither you nor any man can deny to be more corrupt than Babylon or

This fundamental difference from the Catholic dogma that one could buy salvation to Luther’s new ideas as way to Heaven began to transform many people’s beliefs. Supporters of Luther adopted the concept of faith and knowledge of God as a way to repent their sins, and eventually, it reshaped the Christian culture. As Luther personally struggled to be a “perfect” monk, he discovered that faith in the gospel was the only way to be “made righteous by God”(roper 78). In response to his distress for his laity’s desire to buy indulgences, Luther wrote the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences.” He knew he was attacking the pope and the values of the church, but records show that he felt “...not fully in control of his actions, but handed over responsibility to a higher power”(84 roper). Cleary, Luther felt a spiritual connection with God and indulgences were in direct opposition to faith. His revolutionary claims in the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences” caused a conflict that would eventually be known as the Protestant Reformation.

The Catholic Church by the 15th and 16th century was closely aligned with state and was largely corrupt. Many of the Popes, Bishops, and Priests of this time exhibited immoral behavior and their activities in the church opposed scripture. These Catholic priests sold indulgences that represented full or partial remission of sin (Bettenson, 1). Taking into consideration this perceived fraudulence, it was not surprising that a lot of people became disillusioned with the Catholic Church. One of the main characters of this time period who had the courage to go against the Bishop and Catholic Church was Martin Luther, who did not agree with all of the Catholic Church’s doctrine (Unknown, 6). He also did not entirely believe that the bishop and the pope were always authoritative as the church claimed because he believed only the Bible is infallible.

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, which

When Martin Luther wrote the “Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” in 1517, he was making a bold and unprecedented move: challenging the Catholic Church. As a German Catholic priest himself, Luther was not afraid to condemn the Catholic Church, even publicly, which is how he displayed the original copy of the theses. Luther’s issue with the church wasn’t personal but was instead based on what he saw as violation of the religious morals and teachings of God. For example, he highly disapproved the church’s several claims of salvation and forgiveness on earth. The ninety-five theses acted as Luther’s tool of protest against the church and also acted as enlightenment to the masses. Publication of the theses is also often noted as the spark that initiated the Protestant Reformation after centuries of religious tension buildup. Luther’s overall disapproval was “against the corruption” and dishonesty of the church (Bishop, p.1). In the theses, Luther outlined what and how he believed the Catholic Church was doing wrong and how it should be corrected. He argues against the church’s abuse of power and the way it took advantage of its members. What the ninety-five theses did was outline two major points: the selling and buying of indulgences as well as the issue of purgatory regarding to God, the Catholic Church and the Pope.

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that disintegrated Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that differ from Catholic Church and in future triggered wars and fights and persecutions. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, Thomas Muntzer, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s practices, such as “indulgence” and “enough good works to merit salvation” (Sayre 263-266). In Who was Martin Luther Whose 95 Theses Helped Spark the Reformation? (October 31st 2017), Anderson Mike Ellis looks specifically at Martin Luther and his belief and why he wrote the Ninety-Five

His “95 Theses,” which propounded two central beliefs—that the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds—was to spark the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas. His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas. His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the

Religious beliefs and practices give several cultural purposes. It was to be my first sight in a Catholic Church. Whenever I thought about a Catholic Church, I would predict several different cultures and ethnicities joining under one roof for a formal gathering along with a priest to worship someone or something. “Distinctive Roman Catholic beliefs include the special authority of the pope, the ability of saints to intercede on behalf of believers, the concept of purgatory as a place of afterlife purification before entering heaven, and the doctrine of transubstantiation” (Catholicism, 3).

The Catholic Church’s current pope, Pope Francis once said, “A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern. But what is the best that we can offer to those who govern? Prayer!” Catholics are approximately half of the number of Christians, reaching more than one billion members. This number makes it one of the largest religions in the world. In 2003, the Catholic population in the United States was 63.4 million (Roman Catholic Church, 2017). The Catholic Church’s basic beliefs influence their demographics, party affiliation, stances on different political issues, and involvement in American politics.