The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation, started in the early 16th century. It was a revolution that took place in the church, but was mainly based around politics. The most important people during the process of the Reformation were Martin Luther, Henry VIII and John Calvin. Formed from the Protestant Reformation was Protestantism, just one of the three major branches of Christianity. The main argument of Luther, Henry, and Calvin was to redistribute the power to the princes and the priests. Martin Luther was said to begin the Protestant Reformation after he wrote his “95 Theses.” This book explained Martin’s beliefs that the Bible is the center of religious authority, and that humans can achieve Heaven if through their faith, disregarding the good or bad deeds they have done in the past. The church on the other had, was getting too involved in politics and losing its focus on religion and faith. The combination of political manipulations and the rising of church power and wealth lead to a drastic downfall in the church. This lead to the vulnerability of church leaders and caused them to make poor decisions. Pope Leo X, current pope at the time, allowed the selling …show more content…
Instead, Luther went for the roots of the theological aspect of the church. He claimed that the church was not teaching the correct materials and that he was. In his book “95 Theses,” Martin Luther attacked the theory of the selling of indulgences, stating that only God had control of souls in Purgatory, and no human figure himself. It was Luther’s statement about how scripture and faith were the only assets needed to attain Heaven that really put the church authority over the edge. He was not planning on breaking from the church with thus statement, but the pope had enough and finally decided to excommunicate his from the church