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Protestant Reformation Essay

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Introduction

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. This document detailed ideas that he had about Christianity and invited people to debate with him. He did this to fight against the Catholic Church in a movement known as the Protestant Reformation. But what caused the Protestant Reformation? There were many factors that contributed to the Protestant split from the Catholic Church, but the largest contributors include a few people, thoughts, technological advancements, and events in time.

Important People

Events such as the Protestant Reformation do not just happen. There are always people who advocate for it, start it, or may even be the problem that caused it. Some of the …show more content…

The Renaissance started around the same time as the Protestant Reformation. The Renaissance brought loads of new ideas and inventions to the world. It brought inventions like the Printing Press, and ideas such as Humanism. These ideas had a substantial impact on the course of the Protestant Reformation. Christian Humanism was one of the largest ideas brought by the Renaissance. Humanism was the belief in the value of the individual. It promoted the seeking of new information and led to finding multiple editions of the Bible. It also introduced individualism, which helped fuel Jan Hus’s opinions on the separation of believers and priests and helped people think for themselves …show more content…

Some of the other things that contributed to it were Western Schism and the perceived decadence of the clergy and the Catholic Church. The Western Schism started back in the early 1300s. It was a period where multiple Popes were appointed. This happened because Avignon, a commune in France, took on Papacy. This resulted in a pope in Rome and Avignon, causing problems in authority. When the French and Italian cardinals could not decide on one of them, they elected a third. After almost 40 years of having two popes, it was finally resolved in 1417 when the Council of Constance selected Pope Martin

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The beginning of the 16th century brought with it the Reformation. The Catholic Church became challenged by Martin Luther and John Calvin. With nailing of the 95 theses on the Church doors, Luther began the Protestant Reformation. The counter-reformation was introduced in Europe to weaken the Protestant Reformation and rebuild the power of the Catholic Church through education, clergy reform, and spreading of the Catholic faith. The counter-reformation can be additionally seen as a political movement because of the loss in revenue in the Baltic provinces.

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He took the words of God, and made them his own, changing their meaning. After these sudden changes, Martin Luther said, “The main reason I fell out with the pope was this: the pope boasted that he was the head of the Church, and condemned all that would not be under his power and authority. He said, “..although Christ is the head of the Church, there must be a physical head of the Church upon earth.” (Document 5, Luther). As Luther said, this could not be tolerated.

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The Protestant Reformation broke out in Germany in the beginning of 1517. The Church and the Pope began to lose power and authority and people began to question the teachings and ways of the Catholic Church. Ideas of new religions, such as Protestant, Lutheran, and Calvinists, started to spread throughout Europe. The Church was corrupt and started to lose followers. These problems led to people speaking out against the Church and it became a revolution of political and religious debates.

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Martin Luther then wrote the “95 Theses”, or “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences”. This list was nailed on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, initiating the Protestant Reformation. However, Luther was not the only reformer. John Calvin agreed with Martin Luther, but believed that the church should be simple, removed of all icons, and also a stricter lifestyle.

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Theses, posted in 1517, criticized the sale of indulgences and called for a debate on issues of faith and authority within the Church. He emphasized the doctrine of justification by faith, rejecting the Catholic Church's teaching on the necessity of good works for salvation. Luther also advocated for the priesthood of all believers, asserting that all believers have direct access to God and the ability to interpret the Bible for

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The Protestant Reformation of the early 16th century heralded a dramatic change in Western religion. Until the Reformation, the Catholic Church had dominated every aspect of European lifestyle. The Reformation was initiated in 1517 by Martin Luther, a former Catholic priest who witnessed discrepancies within the Catholic Church of his day. The Reformation provided many with the platform needed to thoroughly question and differ from Catholic practices, and as time went on, Reformist movements evolved into groups with their own unique social and religious identities, with many figures throughout Europe launching their own Protestant denominations. Because the Protestant Reformation displaced the place of the Catholic Church traditions in a religious

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While Martin Luther was not the first person to want to change the Catholic Church, he became the first leader of a major religious order to secede successfully from the western Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation, led by Luther, began in 1517 and ended in 1555. Since Luther’s order broke away from the Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation should more accurately be called the Protestant Revolution. While lecturing on the Bible, a revelation appeared to Luther and changed his life.

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Elijah Reed Mrs. Hartman 25 April 2023 The Protestant Reformation was a major religious, social, and political movement that took place in Europe during the 16th century. It was characterized by a rejection of many of the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church, and the establishment of new Protestant denominations. The Reformation had a profound impact on European history, and it played an important role in shaping the modern world. • The roots of the Reformation can be traced back to the late Middle Ages, when many people were dissatisfied with the Catholic Church.

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The cause of the Reformations was more theological than secular. Problems within the church were growing larger and larger. Many people did not agree with all of the churches practices, but there was nothing the could do about it. There are several major theological differences between Protestants and Catholics. Protestants believe that the bible is the source of Gods revolution to mankind.

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The Birth of Protestantism Even before the Black Death, faith in Catholicism began to dwindle. King Philip the fifth used his power to move the papacy from Rome to France, where abuses and corruption ran rampant. In order to salvage the church’s reputation Pope Gregory the eleventh moved the church back to Rome. He died shortly after the move and a fight over electing a Roman or French Pope left the church divided, and vulnerable (Link 15).

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Renaissance in Europe Many things changed Europe for the better. Humanism, The Printing Press and the Renaissance had a lot to do with the change of Europe. These ideas and machines changed the way people of Europe thought and their everyday lives.

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The Christian religion has gone through many changes over the years since its creation, Two events that helped shape it to the way it is today are the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation. While the separation of Christianity from the Great Schism could be considered to have a larger impact than the Protestant Reformation, the two events are very similar in ideas and outcomes. Both the Protestant Reformation and the Great Schism have a connection to building Christianity to the way it is now, and many people disagreed with the Church in both events. The two events contributed to the change of power in the Church and in turn the power of the people.

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Some of the key people and effects of the Protestant Reformation were, Martin Luther, a monk in the Catholic church who wanted a simplified religion and direct relationship with God. Phillip the II (2), the Spanish King, King Henry VIII (8), Charles V, the emperor of the holy roman Empire and Queen Elizabeth I (1), the later Queen of England. The Pope of the catholic church, was charging people money, and saying there sins were forgiven. Martin Luther did not agree with this and decided to do something about it.

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In 1409 the Council of Pisa was made to resolve the split but instead it only brought in a third pope which mad things worse. The Council of Constance was created too in order to end the Schism. It was created on November the 5th 1410. However, this council did end the schism by the election of Cardinal Odo Colonna whom took the name Martin V.

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Main Causes of the Reformation There are many reasons why the Reformation occurred and what the main causes were. Many priests were illiterate and did not teach the same values to people that were contained in the Bible. Indulgences were widely disputed because some religious figures deemed them arbitrary and to others it seemed ridiculous that you could pay money and be absolved of sin. Additionally, many people became more skeptical of the church after several popes turned out to be incorrect on matters of faith.

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