Protestant Reformation's Influence On The Catholic Church

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The Protestant Reformation was an event in history that forever changed the Catholic Church. The occurrence of the Protestant Reformation happened nearly five hundred years ago, and is still felt by the Church today. The influence of certain men such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli, in breaking away from the Catholic Church, transformed it into a better, stronger community. Before the sixteenth century, the Catholic Church had lost its way since the time of Jesus Christ. Sacrilegious priests, money-sucking bishops, nepotism, pluralism, and the practice of indulgences are just a few of the many abuses of the Church at that time. Martin Luther attempted to solve these abuses by posting ninty-five theses that listed all of the abuses that he saw in the Church. This one document sparked a wave of people attacking the Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation ended with the start of many new religions. One of the most significant of these new religions was Calvinism, which was started by a very influential man named John Clavin. Through his beliefs, his writings, and his introduction of a …show more content…

Calvin had many beliefs that were different from the Catholic Church, and his belief in predestination was just one of the reasons that he was forced into exile from France. His writing of "Institutes of the Christian Religion" became the corner stone of the Calvinist religion. He also wrote many other books tat helped people know how to follow the religion properly. While in exile in Switzerland, John established a new style of government called a theocracy that he wanted to spread to all of Europe. All in all, John Calvin could very well be on of the most influential people in the saving of the Catholic Church through the actions of the Protestant

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