The Protestant Reformation began with a movement made by a monk simply to criticize and challenge the actions of the Church. From the disapproval of selling indulgence to the demand of equality, multiple forces have sparked the inception of the Protestant Revolution. Martin Luther’s decision to take public stand against the Church was revolutionary to the society. A movement for religious reforms, known as the Protestant Reformation, was born. Luther’s beliefs were soon adopted by and appealed to every levels of society. 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. …show more content…
Powerful spiritual renewal and heresy arose from the chaotic scene of bloodshed, the fierce intellectual controversies played an important role in religious freedom. The Reformation had brought individual thinkers to develop the principle that no one should be persecuted for his or her religion. Sebastian Castellio was one of the very first humanists who stood on this principle and describes that the world is entangled in the questions of religion. As indicated on Document 8, he does not agree with doctrine punishment for those who denied faith to Christianity. He believed that a person’s conscience should not be subject to power and suppressed by the civil authorities. On the other hand, Michel de Montaigne also developed his ideas toward the religion wars. He expressed his opinions by stating that instead of leaning into cruelty and wealth, religion should destroy vices and lead toward goodness (Document 11). John Milton, who was an English poet that lived through the Puritan Revolution, had also revealed his beliefs toward the freedom of individuals. However, as the last sentence implied that people should rejoice at, instead of arguing and grieving. We can draw the conclusion that religion tolerance was still rare during his time (Document 12). The results of Protestant Reformation had came out to be the developments of individual values toward religion tolerance. As the heretics endured prosecution, more people yearned for an acknowledgement for religious freedom and