The Role Of The Catholic Church During The Protestant Reformation

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The Catholic Church in Europe during the time before the Protestant Reformation was complex in how it governed its members, but also how it dictated the lives of others through the leaders of nations. Protestant reformers like Martin Luther wanted this to change, crying out for the rule of the church and state become completely independent of the other. This reformation shook the foundations of the Church as well as affected the founders of the New World country of the United States of America. Leaders such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were affected by Luther 's beliefs and implemented that into the founding of America and the separation of the government the church to prevent events that had been happening in Renaissance Era Europe. …show more content…
They wanted to have freedom, the right to be their own individuals as well as an individual country. As America grew, and the political scene in the new country began to flourish, church ministers began preaching on politics, which they justified by their need to “declare the whole counsel of God” (Hamburger, 129). This brought a lot of attention to the church by the Republican party, who demanded that the church and state be separate, calling on Martin Luther’s and John Calvin’s works and writings about the separate spheres of government, and how many times, especially with Calvin, it was said to keep them separate, to the point of when they are spoken of, they “must always be examined separately; and while one is being considered, we must call away and turn aside the mind from thinking about the other.” (Hamburger, 22). Clergymen also found, as they would speak on politics, that they would sometimes divide their congregation, even causing some people to leave, which would drain income for the individual church, who relied heavily on donations and gifts to the church to maintain the buildings and grounds (Hamburger, …show more content…
My parents taught me that there is a one-way street between these two spheres, and it goes from church to state, and it was explained to me that one 's political views, can, and ought to be, shaped by what you believe, which for many, is based in the Bible, but once you bring politics into church, that is going the wrong way, because, like was stated in Separation of Church and State, by Philip Hamburger, a sermon on politics can divide a body, and no political speaker can preach on political views that wouldn 't clash with someone else 's views unless they were preaching in a mirror. Therefore, in the matter of whether or not the church and state ought to have connections, I believe there is only one connection that can be made, and that is bringing personal beliefs, including ones based in religion, into your opinion on politics, but that connection should be small and limited, with and understanding that when dealing with matters of the state, there are those who don 't believe in your religion, and they cannot be held accountable for

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