The Protestant Reformation And The Protestant Reformation

Great Essays
At one point in history the church, and even more so the Pope, was the primary power in Europe. The church was said to have control over all of people’s destiney, due to their direct link with God. People honestly believed that the Pope had a hand in their fate to either go to Heaven after death or to go to Hell. Therefore, they would seek the word of the church in almost every matter. However, this way of thinking would change for many people around 1517 with the birth of the Protestant Reformation. The protestant reformation was a religious movement that sprung forth after the Babylonian captivity of the Papacy and the Great Schism. The Babylonian captivity occurred from 1309 until 1377, during which seven successive popes maintained residence …show more content…
While many people were encouraged to accept Protestant beliefs because of their distrust of the church many rulers of the time were encouraged by political reasons and not religious reasons. For example many German Princes during the time only became Protestants because it opened new opportunities to strip the Catholic believer’s land and money. This would increase the wealth of the Prince and would also help to give him more power over his region. One of the biggest examples of a Protestant king is King Henry VIII. This English King created his own church after the Pope would not allow him to annul his marriage. Due to Henry’s great desire to have a son through marriage to another women he created a Protestant religion centered around the Church of England. This new religion was basically the same as Catholicism except the head of the Church was not the Pope it was actually King Henry VII. The King saw this as a way to increase his own power in his country. The King also believed that through changing religions he could also experience a huge monetary gain. Therefore, the King stripped the land of Catholic’s away and he shut down the monasteries. These decisions resulted in the English Crown become much wealthier and in turn resulted in a stronger military. Although, the decision made by Kings and Princes to become Protestant’s was a leading cause of the Protestant reformation, they were still criticised by other Protestants for changing their beliefs for non-religious reasons. For example, Luther called these rulers out, arguing to the rulers that “In your government you do nothing but flay and rob your subjects in order that you may lead a life of splendor and pride, until the poor common folk can bear it no longer” (Document 5). This criticism brought about the creation of new debates on the connection of church and state. The Protestant reformation is similar

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The protestant reformation was a reformation that took place in 16th-century Europe. The reformation reformed religious, political, intellectual and cultural change that took place within the in Catholic Europe. Some of the biggest reformers include Martin Luther in Germany, King Henry VIII in England, and finally John Calvin who created the Calvinist/puritan thinking. Because of these men and their determination to make a change in Europe, religion, as well as many other beliefs that would see today, would look a lot differently.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Reformation Dbq Essay

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Although the Reformation is often viewed as a religious movement, it also significantly affected the political and social spheres of Europe. Obviously, this statement is true. The Reformation was a time where a multitude of denominations of Christianity. This movement resulted into an expanded literary way and religious freedom granted by the government. At the time, the Church owned almost one third of Europe’s land, which already gives us information on who controlled the economy and political force.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Reformation was a time period when religious, political, and intellectual beliefs began to change. Many people at that time were Catholic and followed the beliefs and orders of the Church, mainly the Pope. Whatever the Church said, was believed to be accurate and the people at that time would do whatever it took in order to follow these rules and get into heaven. However, during the time of the Reformation, the way people started looking at the Catholic Church began to change after the influence of Martin Luther and King Henry VII. Martin Luther and King Henry VII both lived during the time of the Reformation, and were looking for change in the ways of the Church, but had different beliefs in doing so.…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Protestantism led many people to rebel the authority of the church. The Protestant Reformation cuased the political conflict in Germany and France. It caused the Thirty Years' War of the 17th century (Cole, J, & Symes C, 2014). For example, many German princes converted to Protestantism. It resisted the Hold Roman Empire.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    There were several significant political and social consequences of the Protestant Reformation during the sixteenth century. The Reformation brought about a change in the way women were viewed and led to support for their lives through Protestant reforms and education. The Protestant Reformation additionally provided the opportunity for princes and monarchs to acquire increased political power through King Henry VIII’s break from the Catholic Church or the Holy Roman Empire prince’s converting to Lutheranism. The Reformation also caused several wars through several of its denominations, such as the Swiss civil wars or the war against Charles V. The changes in the views of women and their lives was a consequence of the Protestant Reformation.…

    • 1608 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther was responsible for the Protestant Reformation, which was when reformers pointed out problems with the church: corruption, simony, and sale of indulgences. During the Protestant Reformation new religions were created because reformers did not agree with Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation had an effect in the Europeans’ society, economy, and the politics. Some effect influenced the European society but others led to diversity.…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Reformation Dbq

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Reformation was also called the Protestant Reformation. It was a religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Its leaders include Martin Luther and John Calvin. Martin Luther believed the Catholic church was corrupt and saw fit to expose the catholic. Through his efforts of exposing the Catholic church, he became one of the most influential and controversial figures in Chris History.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This drew the Augustinian monk, who later became a priest, Martin Luther to remove himself from the church and practice a new meaning of faith. The Protestant reformation was a religions movement, however there was a lot more than just religion that needed to be reformed during this time. There was a lot of corruption, secularism, and a growing theocracy. These problems became…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Reformation movement in the fifteen-hundreds changed the way Europeans looked at their world. They began to question if the church had the right motives in mind. This led to European’s turning to Protestant…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Reformation was a time of political, intellectual and cultural change that tore the very fabric of Catholic Europe. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. Before the Reformation, almost every aspect of life was controlled by the Catholic Church; the Church provided all social events and services as well as owning over one-third of all the land in Europe. Historians credit the beginning of the Protestant Reformation to 1517 after the publication of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses”, which protested the pope’s sale of indulgences.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Protestant Reformation started in the sixteenth century by individuals who felt that the traditional Catholic Church had gone against Christianity’s basic teachings. Many felt that the church had too much power over their followers and were using this power to control others and gather money. The church had been charging for indulgences, or forgiveness of sins, which was seen as fraud and greed in many individuals’ eyes. Some of the leaders in this reformation where Martin Luther and John Calvin, who decided to act on their beliefs of corruption in the Catholic Church.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Causes of the Protestant Reformation The causes of the Protestant Reformation were, the selling of Indulgences, the bible only being read in Latin, and the rich being able to buy high church positions. People after having to go through this their entire life were finally fed up and broke apart from the church which in turn caused multiple wars and millions of people to lose their lives. The church in the 16th century was in dire need of money to complete some of their projects. So they sold what's called an indulgence.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Faisal Ghazwani His 171 The Protestant Reformation was in the 16th century. During the middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church was an extremely powerful, unifying force of the people. As a result, the pope acted as the intermediary between men and God.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Protestant Reformation was a religious revolution lead by Martin Luther and John Calvin. The Roman Catholic Church of the medieval world was complex and had its hand in the politics, especially the papacy, of Western Europe. The Churches increasing power and wealth along with their political influence corrupted the church’s spirituality. The chief of the liberal Catholic Reform attacked favored superstitions, which revealed the concerns of the within the church. Martin Luther claimed that his reform was different because it focused on the church’s doctrine of redemption and grace, the underlying cause of the problems.…

    • 2026 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Renaissance and the Reformation were two of the most cataclysmic time periods in western civilization. Following a period known as the “Dark” or “Middle” Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation were critical in shaping the course of human history. The Middle Ages was a period in Europe that was centered around the Church and its affairs. Following this heavily religious time period, the Renaissance and Reformation brought a new emphasis on the individual. Human capacity and reason were highlighted as individuals began to recognize corruption in the Church and the need for change.…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays