Pros And Cons Of German Reichstag

According to Euan Cameron, Germany was the birthplace of the sixteenth-century reformation because coincidental disputes in the Reichstag and disputes between academics discredited the Old Church. Tensions between Germanic state leadership and the Church provided Luther with the support of the German states. Academic disputes also gave Luther’s future opponents a bad reputation with the German literate elite. Moreover, popularization of anti-papal arguments among humanists gave Luther support before Germanic people understood Luther’s true intentions. The German Reichstag included the Emperor, German princes, and prelates. The German Reichstag was intended to consolidate the un-unified German states to create a manageable government.

In article four, Luther argued that the Church should only deal with matters of faith and religion. Thus, anything outside of religion and faith are the state’s responsibility. In article nine, Luther continued to argue that the Pope should not have power over the Emperor. Thus, according to Luther, the Church and state are two separate entities and neither is subordinate to the other. However, not all reformers supported Luther’s perspective regarding Church and state relations. For example, Melanchthon believed that the State should have more autonomy and should initiate Church reform; while, Joannes Oecolampadius argued for strict separation of powers. The early Reformation believed in a separation of church and state; however the level of autonomy was

Why were cities and towns well-placed to translate Lutheran message into a political program? Towns and cities were important in the translation of Lutheran message into a political program. Many cities conveniently spread religious pamphlets; and many pamphlets influenced reforming priest’s sermons. Since challenges to the Old Church circulated vigorously, city councils were forced to arbitrate between Old Church supporters and challengers. In city council’s attempt to arbitrate, they coincidentally supported the reformation. Thus, the work of secular authorities within cities encouraged Luther’s messages. Luther’s reformation messages were spread through religious pamphlets across Germany. Major cities like Wittenberg, Erfurt, Nuremburg, and Basle had printing centers that distributed religious pamphlets. According to Cameron, religious pamphlets were critical to the movement as approximately four-thousand to six-thousand small religious pamphlets circulated Germany until 1530. Moreover, Cameron argues that low literacy rates did not interfere with the spread of Luther’s message because the pamphlet’s content was not important; it was the principle that messages that challenged the Old Church were circulated which gained Luther