Causation

When looking at any historical event, it is vital to utilize logic, and not allow pride and other emotions to interfere. In order to understand a historical concept as intricate as, for example, multiple causation, a special, scholarly reasoning must be applied. Rather than trying to discover what one wishes to unearth, it is best to study documents with a “spirit of humility.” That being said, it cannot be disputed that multiple causation was indeed responsible for the Protestant Reformation.

Using the elementary line of thought, which dictates that a single event caused the Reformation, is fruitless. It is important to elucidate the various events that are actually attributed to causing the Reformation. To summarize, it was Luther’s activities, the number of supporters he gained, the papal control of the Church, their corrupt “sales of indulgences,” the invention of the printing press, emerging social forces, Charles V’s dilemma, the internal conflict between the papacy and the council, and the rise of the national state over the Church, that worked in tandem with one another to cause the outbreak of the Reformation. The point of stringing them together in a list is to solidify the evidence. Not one of these causes could have, on its own, caused such a monumental event. With any historical event, the causes can operate on several planes to instigate a situation. Essentially, these operations are examples of causation.

One such example is the “domino effect,” where one event sets off another, and then another, and the chain will continue until an event, or conclusion, occurs. Yet another frequent concept is the “powder keg” theory. Events continue to swirl tumultuously together, and additional incidents continue to fall into the keg, or, literally, to be added into the fray. Sooner or later, a spark, in the guise of a law, an event, or a person, will set off a larger and more impacting historical event. These are prime examples of causation, or “cause and effect” scenarios. Causation demands a move away from assuming that the immediate cause should be emphasized and solely blamed for a historical event. It is suggested that a “chain of development” links various elements or events together, leading to one grand event. This is entirely correct. Irrational, superficial attitudes, which state that...

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...es as the universal Church of Western Europe, it had undergone both a loss of positive vitality and a diminishing strength in comparison with new emerging forces.” The Renaissance had caused people to call into question the veracity of Church statements. Slowly, the populace as a whole began to shy away from the Church, believing it to be corrupt. Additionally, the national monarchy would receive lucrative new opportunities, the biggest of which being state control over the Church, if the Reformation occurred. Not wanting to lose their chance at newfound wealth, the territorial princes of Germany made a grab at power. The Catholic Church simply fell apart, not knowing how to maintain its international character and simultaneously deal with threats.

It should now be evident that various persons and events intermingled in such a way that the Reformation was able to occur. Unquestionably, causation led to the Reformation. Gustavson hopes to teach students, and the general public, to grasp the concept and apply it to any analysis of history, for it is the only way to assure that a person is properly cognizant of the hidden factors that shaped the past.