Protestant Reformation Research Paper

The Protestant Reformation has had one of the greatest historical, political, philosophical, and religious impacts on all of history. It began when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517. That one moment sparked a flame that soon turned into a forest fire that has never been forgotten. When Luther posted his theses, his intention was to reform the Church. His reasons were just, for the corruption in the Catholic Church was unlike anything it had ever been before. The Church has for a while been overstepping its powers in the political realm; the priests and bishops were selling God’s forgiveness and preaching doctrine in direct opposition to the reality of Christ’s message; the pope was thoroughly …show more content…
Like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli nurtured not only a strong hatred Catholicism, but Judaism as well, which led to violent mobs and murders, often started by Protestants, but also by Catholics. “The [Calvinist] faithful had been taught so extravagant a hatred of Catholicism that it became difficult to check its practical expression when such expression became feasible. To mutilate statues, to deride religious and priests, to insult the Host, to seize Catholic churches and desecrate them-these were temptations of peculiar and almost irresistible strength…many of the faithful ultimately succumbed” (Carroll 277). Violence was everywhere. Both religions were extremely intolerant of each other. Churches were sacked, books were burned, and many aspects of the culture were lost because of the violent establishing of the new religion and the destruction of the old. The government was often at threat. If the government was Catholic, it would be threatened by plots of assassination and rebellion by Protestants or Calvinists. If the government was Calvinist or Protestant, the Catholics would be the ones threatening assassination and rebellion. England perhaps is the best example of this governmental upheaval. When Henry VIII wanted his marriage annulled and the pope denied him, he wanted to be rid of the Catholic Church. As fate had it, at the same time Luther was breaking off from the Catholic Church, Henry VIII too would be leaving to form his own religion. From that moment, the religious battle for the throne in England began. It is unfortunate that what started as a righteous religious zeal for reform ended up in religious intolerance, violence, chaos, and cultural