The Reformation And The Protestant Reformation

Among the many religious changes that occurred throughout Europe in the sixteenth century, few were as widely influential as the Reformation. There were three streams of the Reformation: the common class, the educated middle class, and the monarchs and princes. All three streams wanted the church to be fixed and hoped it could combine old ideas and new ones. The Reformation was influenced by many different people, yet the most important was John Wyclif, who stated that the church did not need possession in order to be powerful. Different ideologies came from the influences of Wyclif, and many others. Lutheranism began in the mid 1500’s by Martin Luther, and he developed a doctrine of Justification by Faith where he wrote of how people stay in the church and get to heaven from faith

The reformation was a drastic event in the early modern period that launched Europe into a massive conflict of widespread violence, through both political and religious factors. The political scene had remained very much the same before the beginning of the reformation in 1517, with many philosophers sharing similar ideas on how to handle the issues of sovereignty and private property. Religion was a long debated factor before the reformation however was brought inadvertently to the forefront of most political works in the early years of the Protestant Reformation. This event completely changed the way in which philosophers constructed their political discourse as seen with More and Martin Luther, who although despite being placed on

Reformation is the religious revolution that took place in Western Europe in the 16th century. It arose from objections to doctrines and practices in the medieval church, loss of papal authority and credibility as well as other societal, political and economical issues of the time. This revolution had a major impact on Europe and it gave way to short term and long-term consequences, which still can be seen today.

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 began during the Renaissance time period, it was the attempt to reform the Roman Catholic church. It led to the creation of Protestant churches. This reformation began after multiple church leaders started demanding individuals to supply them with such large quantities of goods, food, and money that individuals did not have much left to provide to their own family. Several believed if they did not contribute and present the church with what they asked, they would be denied entrance to heaven once they passed away. People saw how the church thrived while those who contributed were ravenous and penniless. Martin Luther, a monk, noticed several inaccuracies between what the Roman Catholic Church practiced and the Bible as he studied the Bible. He decided to speak out by creating the 95 Theses, and nailing it on the entrance of a catholic church. Protestants who had similar view as Luther’s began Luther-ism. John Calvin, had very similar views as Luther and was even inspired by him to reform the Catholic Church as well. I most admire Martin Luther because of how he spoke up and protested against the Roman Catholic church when he knew it could put him in danger, but I am most similar to John Calvin because of how he believes in predestination and how faith is revealed by living a righteous life.

To begin, the Protestant Reformation began in reaction to the Catholic Church’s rather corrupt practices. Prior to the Reformation, the only major Christian denomination in Western Europe at the time was Catholicism, headed by the Pope in Rome. Through many acts of violence such as the formation of the Spanish Inquisition and the slaughter of the Cathars, amongst others, Europe’s Monarchs had wiped out and suppressed any form of religious competition. With the Catholic Church holding a tight stranglehold over Europe, Catholicism was the only option. This allowed

INTRODUCTION The Reformation is a significant development within a religious tradition. During the 16th century, many changes occurred in European society as well as the Church. These were mainly due to the Protestant Reformation, English Reformation and Catholic Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was initiated by Martin Luther around 1517, in Germany.

The reformation is a name referring to a time of change in religious practices across Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The reformation came after the rise in humanism. As well as coming after the social change that began in the European Renaissance of the 14th century. After the drastic shifts initiated in European society by the Black Death, the Church and the papacy became more corrupt. It's officials more secular, political, and focused on wealth.

The protestant reformation happened at the moment that it did because the Catholic Church was very a powerful force in Europe. It controlled people lives both spiritually and temporally. The church had so much power that it maintained political control over a large portion of Italy. The fact that the church held so much control over countries and governments became a point of contention among European countries such as the Holy Roman Empire, Italian city-states outside of Rome, England, France and Spain. The power of the rulers of these areas had greatly increased in the 14th century and they were eager to take the chances offered by a Reformation to weaken the grip of the Catholic Church in Europe and also to develop their own powers across the European continent. For quite some time the Catholic Church had been an institution rampant with internal struggles. Such as the Avignon Papacy from 1309 to 1377 when seven popes opted to live in Avignon, France and not reside in Rome which was and is the traditional home of the Papacy. The Pope and other high ranking church officials often lived opulent lifestyles rather than a more austere lifestyle that should befit a spiritual leader. Many church leaders and Popes maintained political powers. They led armies, waged wars and made many political decisions. Church offices were sold, and many Popes and bishops practiced nepotism to fill church offices. With all of these worldly issues for the Pope

During the Baroque period, religion, politics and socioeconomic were influenced by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation movements. The reformation revolution took place at the Western Church and was led by Martin Luther during the 16th century (1517). The revolution resulted in the founding of Protestantism, which is today one of the major branches of Christianity. During the revolution, chaos aroused between the Catholic and the Protestant church because the Protestants are against some practices of the Catholic Church like the selling of indulgences and relics. The Reformation forced the masses to create a choice of religion ‒ to be Catholic or to be Protestant. It was a choice that had to be made and there were no alternatives. The revolutionaries noticed the corruption and the misused authority of the leaders of the church and they believed that things had to be changed and be put back in the proper order of the bible.

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 Catholic Church had been handing out indulgences around the time that Luther was teaching biblical studies as well as preaching about religion. Indulgences during the Renaissance were basically a way to receive forgiveness of sin in the exchange for penance which was most of the time cash donations to the Catholic Church. During the year of 1517, a friar named Johan Tetzel was made the commissioner of indulgences in Germany. With the sales of indulgences, Tetzel was trying to raise money to renovate St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The commission that Tetzel was running had been accused of selling indulgences for sins that would be committed in the future. This had prompted Martin Luther to openly preach against Tetzel and the sale of indulgences. In a letter that Luther had written to the Archbishop of Mainz, Luther states “the first and sole duty of all bishops that the people should learn the Gospel and the love of Christ, for Christ never taught that indulgences should be preached.” (Spaeth, 2) This basically shows that Luther believes that the Church should be more focused on teaching about the Gospel and instead, they are more focused on teaching about indulgences. However, the sale of indulgences did not bother Luther to this level until they made it to his congregation. Luther was outraged when his congregation would basically show off their indulgences they had received and how their sins had been forgiven. Luther

The second sequence of events is known as the Reformation. The Protestant Reformation took place during the 16th-century. It was a European Christian movement that began as an effort to reform the Catholic Church and ultimately led to the establishment of Protestant Christian religions. The Protestant Reformation was a religious, political, intellectual and cultural disturbance that fractured Catholic Europe. The Protestant Reformation set into place the structures and beliefs that defined the mainland in the modern era. Martin Luther was one of the many scholars who challenged religious authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. He, along with many others, argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of religious pastors and princes.

The Reformation officially began in 1517 when Martin Luther challenged the Roman Church on the matter of Indulgences. While Luther had no idea of the impact this would make on the German society and the world, this event changed the course of history.