Religion During The Reformation Dbq Essay

The influence of religion during the Reformation was a manifestation of the conflict of criticism toward the Catholic Church that shaped the events of the age. Although the peasants were primarily motivated towards economic and political justice, the Reformation introduced the German peasants to independent ideas and generated a movement against the nobility, as well as tying into the countermovement of the German peasant revolts of 1524 and 1525. Instead of seeking refuge in feudal authority, the peasants of Germany reflected religious ideas in their revolution by appealing to God’s authority. As the hold of the church's influence over society declined from the conflict of the Reformation, the leaders of the revolts optimized the growing animosity to generate support for the revolts. Correspondingly, religion expressed the

One of the main contributors of the peasant riots, Thomas Müntzer, wrote to the peasants of Allstedt encouraging them to unite with the rebels and God’s will, by demolishing the princes’ towers (Doc 4). Müntzer was notoriously known for his violent onslaughts in the name of God and his theologian ideas, akin to Luther’s. He sustained the peasant resistance by declaring and modeling the revolt after the Protestant Reformation. Initially, the nobility ignored the peasant rebellion, as it only challenged the clergy; however, after the peasants ravaged the Church, they proceeded to barrage the nobility (Doc 7). Count Wilhelm wrote to the Duke of Prussia to criticize the nobility for downplaying and failing to control the revolts. However, Count Wilhelm reveals that the nobility were pleased with the revolts against the clergy and that they, in turn, supported the reformation. Since the peasants had revolted under the name of the Reformation, the revolts were