Requirement of Reform of the Church in Europe During 15th and 16th Centuries
The Church in Europe required reform at the end of the fifteenth
century and the beginning of the sixteenth century for a number of
reasons. The main reason being the behaviour of the papacy and their
priorities which were no longer the welfare of the Church. There were
other factors which contributed to the development of the Reformation
in Europe other than the state of the Church and Christian Humanism,
however these were the main factors.
The first reason why the Church in Europe needed reform was the papacy
who became more interested in wealth than in spiritual welfare. It was
normal for priests and bishops to charge a small amount for baptism,
weddings and burials as well as taking a tithe of everyman’s produce.
This was acceptable because it was the only way for them to survive,
however the situation became unacceptable when the papacy started
charging more for these services. This is an important factor, as
taking money away for holy ceremonies would bring resentment towards
the church from the common man who would definitely look to a
reformation to eliminate these charges.
Sales of Indulgences, which ‘were portrayed as a convenient way of
absolving one’s sins… preachers were encouraged to associate the coin
falling into the money chest with the soul moving from purgatory into
heaven,’ (Armstrong) angered many, including the German reformer
Martin Luther. The clergy who were profiting from this shows one of
the reasons why reform was needed and why profiting from the
impoverished is an important factor leading up to this reform.
Another e...
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Reformation Treaties,’ Luther said ‘Reform is impossible unless the
Pope’s power in Germany is destroyed’ (Chadwick) This is important as
it is an example of Luther being concerned with the abuse of power
rather than other factors.
To conclude, there are other factors which contributed to the
development of the Reformation in Europe other that the state of the
Church and Christian Humanism. However the most important factors and
the factors which had the most impact on the reformation have to be
the state of the Church and Christian Humanism. Some would argue that
these are the only factors, however it is clear that the increase of
books due to the printing press and the Renaissance helped the
Reformation and therefore there were other factors which contributed
to the development of the Reformation in Europe.
Furthermore, church wealth and power tended to be abused by some of the members of the clergy. Church used to sell some of its offices, charging people to help them position in places of power. But the main issue that made the reformation happen was the sale of indulgences, so church made people believe that they could buy their way into heaven without making good deeds.
The Church in England's Need for Considerable Reform in 1529 Many historians argue, that it is not true to say, that before the Reformation England was a land shrouded in the mists of ignorance; that there were no schools or colleges for imparting secular education till the days of Edward VI.; that there was no real religion among the masses, apart from practices such as pilgrimages, indulgences, and invocation of the saints; that the people were up in arms against the exactions and privileges of the clergy, and that all parties only awaited the advent of a strong leader to throw off the yoke of Rome. But there were a number of problems, which need to be considered. Many historians have argued that the people of the early 16th century agreed with Henry in his decision, to break with Rome because the church in England was a deeply unpopular institution. Anti-clericalism according to this line of argument was widespread.
The Church's Need for Reform in 1529 In 1529 Henry the 8th started to reform the Catholic Church in England, however there are different reasons and opinions as to why he decided to reform the church. There was a big anti-clerical feeling in 16th century England, the corrupt church was unpopular with the masses. However the main view claims that the reformation was actually due to politics at the time. Henry needed a male heir to the throne and therefore needed a divorce to his wife.
The period immediately following the Protestant reformation and the Catholic counter reformation, was full of conflict and war. The entire continent of Europe and all of it's classes of society were affected by the destruction and flaring tempers of the period. In the Netherlands, the Protestants and the Catholics were at eachother’s throats. In France it was the Guise family versus the Bourbons. In Bohemia, the religious and political structures caused total havoc for over thirty years; and in England, the Presbyterians thought that the English Anglican Church too closely resembled the Roman Catholic Church. Religion was the major cause of the widespread turmoil that took place throughout Europe between 1560 and 1660.
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”
The Protestant Reformation, also known as the Reformation, was the 16th-century religious, governmental, scholarly and cultural upheaval that disintegrated Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era (Staff, 2009). The Catholic Church begun to dominate local law and practice almost everywhere starting in the late fourteenth century. The Catholic Church held a tight hold on the daily lives of the people invading just about every part of it. Some people of this time would decide to stand up to the church and attempt to change the way it operated and make it release some of its control. These people who spoke out against the church came to be known as Protestants. The Protestants
Between the years 600 CE and 1450 CE in Europe, there was only one thing that stayed constant, and it was the Roman Catholic Church. The church remained a major influence on the people of Europe and the majority of the region continued to believe every single thing that the church preached. The only thing that did not stay constant was who had the power over the church and how the church made sure that everyone was following their rules that they had created. The church had varying teaching over the course of many years. It was also used as a tool for the rulers of that time.
Before the 16th century Protestant Reformation, Christianity it Europe was in a questionable and somewhat corrupt state. During the mid 15th century central and western Europe was set up in the form of a hierarchy, which was headed by the pope. At this period in time the pope claimed all spiritual authority over Christians, as well as political authority over all inhabitants of the Papal States. In addition to the claims the pope made, the church also owned close to one-fourth of the land in Europe that lead to a strong centralization of papal authority. Close to all of the Europeans at this time were Christian and would pay taxes directly to the church as a result of this ownership. European Christians were taught in their upbringing that without the guidance and rituals of the priests and the church, there would be no path for them to salvation. Despite the church attempting to teach morality among members, the clergy started to become greedy and full of corruption that fueled their desire for ...
The problems the church contributed to the Protestant Reformation were the selling of indulgences and abuse of the church and clergy. The sale of indulgences particularly were attacked by communities and rulers, especially when the sale of indulgences were for the benefits of the church, such as raising money to build a new St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. This financial abuse of the church brought about protests from many communities around Europe. Martin Luther’s famous Ninety-Five Theses was an argument against the sale of indulgences. Church law granted the clergy immunity from taxes, civic duty, and jurisdiction of civil courts. Simony, the buying of ecclesiastical privileges, was another abuse of clerical powers. As quoted in the textbook, “Rare was the late medieval German town that did not have complaints about the maladministration,
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
European history, the middle ages, or medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century (Middle Ages). During that period of time, the Catholic Church was the largest, and most important part of people’s lives. It influenced all parts of European society, from the poorest, to most powerful including the King. This influence was cause by the people turning to their priests for religious guidance, giving them agency over nearly every facet of their lives.
During the Age of Reformation people were greatly against the abuses that existed in the Roman Catholic Church. A couple of abuses that were greatly stressed were the selling of indulgences, simony, and nepotism. It was some of these same abuses that prompted German reformist Martin Luther to write his 95 Theses. And for the Council of Trent to later address them in a series of meetings.
In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Church's power was so great that they could order and control knights and sends them to battle whenever they wished to. The Church also had the power to influence the decision of Kings and could stop or pass laws which benefited them in the long run, adding to this, the Church had most of the wealth in Europe as the Church demanded a Tithe from all the common life which meant that they had to pay 10 percent of their income to the Church. The Church controlled all the of the beliefs and religion of the Church as they were the only ones who could read or write Latin and as such could decipher the Bible and scriptures which gave them all the power to be the mouth of God. The Legacy of the power and the influence of the Church can still be found, even today in modern times.
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.
The Effects of the Reformation on European Life European society was divided from the word go, people all around Europe were dominantly Catholic before the reformation. This time was bringing change throughout Europe with a heavy influence on art and culture because the Renaissance was occurring; a religious revolution was also beginning, which was known as the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was the voicing of disagreements by a German Catholic priest about the Catholic Church; this priest was Martin Luther and was excommunicated from the church for his actions. The Protestant Reformation helped to influence and strengthen the Renaissance that was just arising in England.