Through history there have been a great number of religious landmarks and revolutions. One of the most important during the time period was the Protestant Reformation. As it shows, even religious matters can come to the point of bloodshed as revolts are never a clean process. Most would also have to agree that the only way anything can be won is within the power of a good leader. The Protestant Revolution was caused by a mix of political, economical and social issues and affected Europe by splitting the religions into Protestants and Catholics.
The Protestant Revolution took place in the 16th century and was led by Martin Luther, a German monk. He held the belief that the Roman Catholic Church had become corrupt over the years and it needed to be reformed, he also debated that the reform was required with rather peculiar regards. He said the language of the Bible was too hard to understand because not many people read Latin and therefore couldn’t be fully understood. Luther considered this immoral. To light the flame of the reform, Martin Luther wrote his 95 Thesis and posted it at Wittenberg church. The printing press helped greatly with the publishing of ’95 Thesis’, which caused a great deal of trouble with the Catholic Church. The thought of Religious Reformation hadn’t been a new thought, actually many other had very well thought of it and the printing press made things much easier to be spread. Reformers such as Zwingli and Calvin became popular and vied for the right to practice their religion openly. However, the religion at the time was evolved with political, social, and economical stability at the time to the point to which started as a mere statement ended up in a revolution.
The underlying causes of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century were economic, social, and political in nature. The economy during the 15th and 16th centuries consisted of extreme poverty throughout the majority of the land and peasants. However, that also meant that economic prosperity did not directly affect the peasants because they were taken care of by the lords they worked for. With nothing to do even with extreme taxation, the peasant class began to wrap themselves around new religion forms. Another group of unhappy citizens were the Parish Priests, who suffered with the lower class to pay their bills. With these priests in such a bad state the Pope and cardinals took advantage of them by adding new taxes that were to “benefit Rome”” and were often threatened if they decided not to pay said taxes. Along with economical issues, social issues made things difficult as well.
For many people during this time period they felt the only way to communicate with God or interpret scripture was through a priest. As Luther came to point out, Priests are not the only one who can communicate with God. We can all communicate with God through prayer, that is, however, simply what he was directing too. He continued to produce the Address to the Nobility of the German Nation where he told the Pope’s claim that they were the only ones who could talk interpret scriptures. On top of that there were intense political movements, which helped countries to embrace Protestant ideas. At the time, the Pope declared that he was the head of all Christendom and that he alone had say over all secular rulers and their people. This, however, did upset the German princes but out of fear of excommunication. The Catholic Church believes that the church is more important than the state and therefore has the higher authority. However, over time that had been changed and now the church is being dependent and coexisting with the state.
Within reason it is clear to say that the printing press and other technological advancements gave way to the help of the revolution. It can also be agreed that it was Martin Luther who gave way to that little push it took to start the movement. Either way, the Protestant Reformation brought about two different types of Christian - the established Catholic Church and the Protestant churches. This gave us the permanent separation of Catholicism and other Christian denominations. This, in turn, helped form Western Europe as we so know it to be.
The Protestant Revolution took place in the 16th century and was led by Martin Luther, a German monk. He held the belief that the Roman Catholic Church had become corrupt over the years and it needed to be reformed, he also debated that the reform was required with rather peculiar regards. He said the language of the Bible was too hard to understand because not many people read Latin and therefore couldn’t be fully understood. Luther considered this immoral. To light the flame of the reform, Martin Luther wrote his 95 Thesis and posted it at Wittenberg church. The printing press helped greatly with the publishing of ’95 Thesis’, which caused a great deal of trouble with the Catholic Church. The thought of Religious Reformation hadn’t been a new thought, actually many other had very well thought of it and the printing press made things much easier to be spread. Reformers such as Zwingli and Calvin became popular and vied for the right to practice their religion openly. However, the religion at the time was evolved with political, social, and economical stability at the time to the point to which started as a mere statement ended up in a revolution.
The underlying causes of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century were economic, social, and political in nature. The economy during the 15th and 16th centuries consisted of extreme poverty throughout the majority of the land and peasants. However, that also meant that economic prosperity did not directly affect the peasants because they were taken care of by the lords they worked for. With nothing to do even with extreme taxation, the peasant class began to wrap themselves around new religion forms. Another group of unhappy citizens were the Parish Priests, who suffered with the lower class to pay their bills. With these priests in such a bad state the Pope and cardinals took advantage of them by adding new taxes that were to “benefit Rome”” and were often threatened if they decided not to pay said taxes. Along with economical issues, social issues made things difficult as well.
For many people during this time period they felt the only way to communicate with God or interpret scripture was through a priest. As Luther came to point out, Priests are not the only one who can communicate with God. We can all communicate with God through prayer, that is, however, simply what he was directing too. He continued to produce the Address to the Nobility of the German Nation where he told the Pope’s claim that they were the only ones who could talk interpret scriptures. On top of that there were intense political movements, which helped countries to embrace Protestant ideas. At the time, the Pope declared that he was the head of all Christendom and that he alone had say over all secular rulers and their people. This, however, did upset the German princes but out of fear of excommunication. The Catholic Church believes that the church is more important than the state and therefore has the higher authority. However, over time that had been changed and now the church is being dependent and coexisting with the state.
Within reason it is clear to say that the printing press and other technological advancements gave way to the help of the revolution. It can also be agreed that it was Martin Luther who gave way to that little push it took to start the movement. Either way, the Protestant Reformation brought about two different types of Christian - the established Catholic Church and the Protestant churches. This gave us the permanent separation of Catholicism and other Christian denominations. This, in turn, helped form Western Europe as we so know it to be.
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