The Influence of Religion
The Gutenberg printing press, which printed the very first Bible in 1445, helped spread religion throughout the Holy Roman Empire, and other regions. The spread of the Bible caused perspectives to change regarding religion which led to the rebellion of peasants. It can be argued that religion had nothing to do with the revolt of peasants, however, the different point of views of whether or not peasants should be treated the same caused the peasant uprising in Germany from 1524 to 1525.
Religion helped the peasants realize they should not be held as serfs anymore. Because of their strong convictions they decided to write the Articles of the Swabian Peasants displaying what they believed and deserved as peasants.
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They believed that society and religion are two separate ideas, which is also known as secularism, and should not be associated together. Their perspectives and ideas about religion and society didn’t mix well with the peasants, which helped the stirring of the peasants revolt. The Memmingen Town Council replied to the Articles and agreed they would “release and absolve its subjects from such serfdom that they control, if the peasants would pay them a reasonable amount of money” (Document 3). The Council is aware that peasants barely make enough money to support themselves, and so they know their agreement won’t be fulfilled. About 2 months after the Council’s response, the peasants violently take matters in their own hands and start robbing and raging throughout the town. Martin Luther was very angry about this, he believed that they forgot their place in the society, and how they are just peasants, nothing more (Document 5). Luther believed they were liars, and their Articles were not inspired by God. Lastly, Caspar Nützel hoped that God would grant peace throughout the society. As said by him in document 6, “It is indeed true that the poor, blind, and ignorant peasants have overstepped the mark with their unseemly behavior.” Caspar’s perspective of religion, along with the others, caused the uprising of peasants in
In the sixteenth century of Europe, religious reform and changes led people away from the Catholic Church. From Martin Luther’s exposition of the church’s corruption to King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy, these two religious figures broke away from the Catholic Church in favor of alternative religions. Their lives were heavily involved in their personal and political motives to change the church’s religious practices and beliefs. In the German states, Martin Luther realized that the priests were often unqualified, immoral, and corrupted.
The nobility primarily believed that the revolt was unnecessary and condemned the actions of the peasants. In response to the Peasant Parliament of Swabia’s “Articles of the Peasants of Memmingen”, the Memmingen Town Council stated that “the serfdom of a Christian is no hindrance to the salvation of his soul” (Doc 3) The Town Council is effectively stating here that religion is not a just reason for rebellion. It is safe to assume from that statement that they believe that the Peasant Revolt lacked a reason and was unnecessary. As this reply is from a town council, the point of view of this document is highly reliable and would align with the point of view of the members on the council, the lords/nobility.
The peasant revolts in the German states from 1524-1526 were caused primarily by the extended manipulation of many Lutheran ideals, as well as grievances toward their lords and superiors, while the responses of this revolt were solely condemning of those participating. The compassionate doctrines of the recently introduced lutheran doctrines provided much justification for the Peasant revolts of the 1520’s. Documents one and three demonstrate this idea of Lutheranism. Document one is of Leonhard von Eck, the Chancellor of Bavaria as he reports to the Duke of Bavaria.
Prior to 1550, the European continent was dominated by Catholicism and had been for centuries. However, Protestantism first introduced by Martin Luther had begun to make inroads in the Holy Roman Empire and Nordic countries. Despite the growing popularity of these new religions, the majority of monarchs saw religious diversity as a weakness. Instead, most rulers pursued Religious uniformity to ensure political stability and strength. Examples of monarchs attempting to achieve religious university abound from Charles V in the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, to Rome, and to England.
Luther’s radical new ideas regarding religion excited the peasants of the German states and his ideas stated in documents such as his 95 theses acted as a catalyst for the revolts that erupted in the lower class between the years 1524 and 1526. Peasants believed the cause of these revolts were the mistreatment they received from their lords and ruling princes. Their acts of revolution were largely based on new radical ideas surrounding religion, and some even saw it as God’s will. A third cause cited by the peasants was a need for their release from serfdom.
The Reformation caused many who were born into lower classes to question the social caste system as Luther had questioned the church, which eventually lead to the Peasant Revolt of 1524. This Revolt spawned The Twelve Articles of the Swabian Peasants, which stated, “It has been customary for men to hold us as their property [as serfs]. But since Christ redeemed us all, it accords with Scripture that we should be set free.” This shows the peasants were slaves of that time as they were “held as property” by the people in power, however, even with the peasants best efforts they were “shut down” swiftly by the lords and princes. At the beginning of the Revolution, Martin Luther gave his sympathies to the peasants, but once the peasants began to pillage, burn, and kill he decided to side with the princes and lords.
Thomas Muntzer supported the rebellions, he believed countries had finally stopped resisting God’s Will, and he supported the peasants taking down the unethical upper class (Doc 4). As a protestant preacher, Muntzer strived to kindle rebellions because he yearned for a drastic religious reform of the corrupt Catholic church (POV). Being the man that started the Reformation, Martin Luther supported the development of a new religion, but he did not support the violent process the peasants were using to further the reform (Doc 5). Luther was a man of strong faith and he understood that killing nobles, even if it was for God, was unchristian, therefore he didn’t endorse the German peasant revolts even though they were in his name (POV). Caspar Nutzel, similar to Luther, responded to the uprisings by saying that the authorities had been very suppressive, but the peasants did cross a line with their improper conduct (Doc 6).
For the superiors to remain high in the social hierarchy, their goal was to keep the citizens under their control. As a result, commoners usually had no choice but to stop in their tracks, for fear of imprisonment or death. During the Age of Revolution and European Enlightenment, individuals advocated for freedom and equality for all, but these ideas were not always executed or carried out as originally planned, as proven by the writers and leaders during this period. In document 22.2, author, Abbe de Sieyes claims that “freedom is not the consequence of privileges, but of the rights appertaining to all.” He thinks that just because the poor lacks privileges, does not mean they should lack freedom.
Religion and its various ideologies played a key role in advancing the authority of the Ottoman and Catholic Europe; it also influenced the way they confronted outside powers and people from other religions. The Ottomans where an Islamic ruled empire which brought about a certain ideology that gave them the God given rights to the earth. Catholic Europe also had this ideology from where God gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and endowed upon them earth as well (Matt 16: 19). The catholic church in Europe seemed to have their hands in the cookie jar of European Medieval Government and some what controlled the kings and nobles.
After the Renaissance, Europe began to enter into an age of reformation as several individuals strongly opposed of the church’s teachings. In particular, the Protestant Reformation was inspired by Martin Luther, a theologian and monk, that sought to reform the Catholic church with his Ninety-Five Theses along with the aid of the printing press. The main cause of the Protestant Reformation was the church practice of selling indulgences and Luther’s response to their practices. The rise of social revolutions like the Radical Reformation and the Peasants’ Revolt and new forms of Christianity such as Lutheranism and Calvinism resulted from the Protestant Reformation.
The opposition Luther took against the Church soon had an instant impact on peasants. Individuals began to form opinions on both political and religious fields, but they had failed to interpret the beliefs of Luther correctly.
Reality What a person expects of prayer generally reflects what they believe about the nature of reality, and the reality of God. For example, believing in a universal Law of God, I cannot expect my prayer to supersede or intervene in the workings of that Law. After all, if God abides by Its own Law, how can I expect to do otherwise? I couldn’t reasonably expect to circumvent a universal Law through prayer. However, I can abide peacefully by working consciously with the Law, applying Its principles in ways that prosper my life.
Johannes Gutenberg, the creator of the invention, helped in not only improving literacy rates, but also challenge beliefs about life and their surroundings. Regarding religion, the diffusion of
Accompanying and even influencing the social changes of the twentieth century, religion entered an era of reformation and revival as Christianity and Catholicism struggled against one another in order to win the American society. With this evolving conflict, institutions, such as the Young Men/Women’s Christian Association, developed in support of both Christianity and Catholicism and accounted for the major social influences of religion as a whole throughout the conflict. As the progressivism movement increased in popularity, factors such as religion furled its purpose and strengthened its legitimacy: “ Still another of the streams flowing into progressivism was religious activism based on social justice, the idea that society had an ethical
RELIGION CAUSES MORE HAARM THAN GOOD TO SOCIETY Religion according to the oxford dictionary is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power especially a personal God or gods. Every human being in one way or the other belongs to a particular religion. Since religion makes us worship one God then it should be binding all of us. Actually it is not, it rather tears people apart day in and day out .It is true that religion has influenced society positively in diverse ways, but the bad outweighs the good. Thus I think religion causes more harm than good to the society.