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Impact of Protestant Reformation on the Catholic Church
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The Christian clergy and the papacy have always been a little corrupt. This is evident before the Black Death, after the Black Death, and during the Renaissance. Christian clergy and the papacy have always had a lot of power, and they abused that power. This is apparent, from as far back as before the Black Death, in the actions of the Bishop of Munster and the Archbishop of Cologne during the year 1074. During that time the archbishop sent out his servants to take a boat from a merchant so the Bishop could have a ride home. Because of this a fight occurred. People of towns believed that archbishops were governing in a tyrannical manner. During and after the Black Death, the church declined further; as Prices went up to see a priest, illiterate …show more content…
The clergymen wore nice clothes and in some cases, they would avoid the sick and poor to help the merchants and rich folk; they chose profit over their duties of helping those in need. During the Renaissance politics got in the way of Christian ways. The pope moved to Avignon and people like St. Catherine were trying to bring him back to Rome. This brought people to create a general council. Cardinals used politics to get into the pope’s position. This is evident in the election during the year 1458, when the Cardinal of Rouen and Aeneas made personal attacks on each other, and how the cardinal of Rouen promised the other cardinals offices or paid positions in the church. Because of the corrupted ways of the Christian clergy and the way popes were submerged in politics, is the reason what that the Christian clergy and papacy were held in such low regard during the fifteenth and sixteenth …show more content…
With everyone and anyone dying from the plague there were empty spots in the clergy, and men rushed to fill the spots. “Many of them were illiterate, no better than laymen.” These illiterate men were allowed into the clergy, this was not a good step for the church. These men rushing into priesthood, beyond being illiterate, were in it just for the money. Prices to get a chaplain skyrocketed, whereas before the prices to get a chaplain were as low as four marks, by the end of the Black Death the prices were as high as ten marks. Prices went up when the need for priests went up; this is never a good thing because it shows greed in the church, especially since the qualities of priests were
The Effects of The Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
The 1500’s were a time of reformation and also a time of corruption in the church. The pope, Pope Leo X was one of the most corrupt popes because of his greed for money. The church was very wealthy during the protestant reformation promoting false beliefs to many people, but one man named Martin Luther changed that with his 95 theses because of his dislike for the wrongdoings from the Catholic church.
5).” “Finally, the Church influenced politics at that time” (Doc. 3).” “The Church unified Europeans and gave every person a sense of how the world worked (Doc.3).” “Ultimately, political leaders only had local power, the Church was the most powerful institution (Doc.3).” These are just some of the things that we’re going on in the politics of the Middle Ages.
The Roman Catholic Church greatly influenced the lives of many people during the medieval times. At the head of the Roman Catholic Church was the pope. Followers believed that the pope was the representative of Jesus on earth. The spiritual classes below the pope were the cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops, and finally the local priests. This was a very efficient system where each class ruled, and directed each class below them. Peasants, of course, were all the way at the bottom of the social class system, but took up 95% of the population. Their lives were very closely tied to their local churches. The main responsibility of the Roman Catholic Church was to serve the spiritual needs of medieval society, and to get people to heaven. This slowly started to change as soon as the Church turned to their corrupt ways to control the people. The Church owned everything from land, to even peoples souls! Going against the Roman Catholic Church was absolutely unacceptable. Not only would you be
In short, disestablishment is the most literal form of separation of Church and State; it prohibited the state from funding or establishing a religion. This was a continuation of the fight for the freedom on conscience. James Madison was very influential in this fight, “Religion was not invented by human policy” thus he argued that it should never be subjected to human policy (Maddison, 120). Maddison expresses that a person’s religion is to be determined by his own conviction and conscience, “and it is the right of every man to exercise it” (Maddison, 118). Freedom of religion, the first amendment, existed before disestablishment, but in it’s entirety was dependent on disestablishment. Establishment was achieved through imposing taxes on
Most Christians believed God generated the Black Death because of a “sinful humanity” (The Black Death, 94). They asked God for mercy. People associated arrows with the plague. They believed God, angels, or demons, either hurtled spears or shot arrows at towns or people with the intention to infect them with the plague. People also questioned the ability of the church. The priesthood was blamed “for failing to administer to the needs of parishioners during the Black Death, including hearing confession and giving last rites” (The Black Death, 94). In fear of being infected and also desiring higher salaries , priest went to work at private chapels and chantries and other private services. As a result, people felt betrayed by the
Many influential figures utilized their position to provide assistance to the poor. A fifteenth Catholic priest from France urges his congregation to donate to the poor because he wishes to reach to the poverty stricken majority and spread the appeal of Catholicsm (Doc 1). Throughout the fifteenth century the Great Schism occurred in which several men claimed legitimacy as the Pope and
It started with a headache. Then, death. The Plague, a severe epidemic that caused the death of millions, received varying replies from varying peoples. Many interpretations were made, and differing actions occurred based on these explanations, religious or non-religious, some more severe than not. Christians often turned the blame on others, while the majority of the Muslims decided that there really was no reason to associate other peoples with the cause of the Great Plague (Documents 8 & 10). While there are generalizations, responses to this catastrophe are different depending on religion and world views.
The periods during the Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and the World at War all experienced religious and church conflicts. During the Renaissance and Reformation (1330 – 1650), the fundamental practices of the church came under fire. The church at this time was the largest and most political body. The pope, himself, was the most recognizable political figure. It was due to this authority that the church and its pope were more interested in political issues and less with the spiritual needs of the people (McGraw-Hill, p. 76). Many of the Roman Catholic Church’s high priests had bought their way into position and had very little religious experience. Often the only members of the community that were literate were the clergy thus adding to their control of the common people.
...id too better than lepers, beggars and that crew" (244-46, 111). The Friar cares only about pleasing himself and does not work to make other people's lives better. He neglects the people he is supposed to help and instead spends his time with the rich. These members of the clergy are not devout Catholics and have no right to be masquerading as one. By pretending to be something they are not, they bring corruption into the church.
From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, “In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places”
Why is the Catholic Church so corrupt in its teaching? They have found ways to control the knowledge that their followers contemplate on. The control of knowledge and power is the foundation for every successful religious organization. The Catholic Church have acquired this power through strategic control on the mind of its follower. The Catholic Church propagate their ideals as righteous in order to be accepted; for without this acceptance, they are faced with the task of initiating this power through force. So to beguile their followers, they present themselves in “sheep clothing” (KJV, Matt 7:15). They are accepted as blameless, peaceful, loving and harmless but in actuality, “they are ravening wolves” (KJV, Matt. 7:15).
Finally, the friars were to wander around the neighbouring towns to preach and aid the needy.... ... middle of paper ... ... The Roman Catholic Church’s reputation for wealth and power furnished them with the ability to have a major impact over feudal society.
The clergy was composed of religious officials who were also powerful during the Middle Ages. They had more power than the masses.
Early in history, the Roman papacy consolidated its power. It became one of the most influential organizations in the medieval period. This rise to power resulted from the decline in the Western Empire, the leadership of Roman bishops, and special grants that gave the church land holdings. This rise to power caused some positive ramifications, such as the protection of the church from heresy. However, the absolute power of the pope also caused corruption and abuses, many of which would eventually spark the reformation.