Protestant Reformation of Christianity

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The renaissance period marked radical changes in many fields, this includes religion. The so-called Protestant Reformation was the split within western Christian Church initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other early Protestants. Calls for reform came form all sectors of the European society and it is this dissatisfaction that explains why the ideas of Martin Luther evoked such extreme responses, there was already a ready audience. Although there had been significant attempts at reform before Luther, the date usually given for the start of the Protestant Reformation is 1517, when Luther published The Ninety-Five Theses. As he developed his ideas, Luther gathered followers, who came to be called Protestants. The word protestant derives from “protest” drawn up by a small group of reforming German princes in 1529. At first Protestant meant a “follower of Luther”, but with the appearance of many protesting sects, it became a general term applied to all non-Catholic western European Christians. Within the first decade of the publishing of his ideas much of central Europe and Scandinavia had broken from the Roman Catholic Church. While much of the reformation is credited to Martin Luther, one can argue that it is more the combination of him during that specific time along with the development of a more sophisticated printing press that led to the ‘success’ of the reformation.

By the time Martin Luther started publishing his ideas there not only existed great dissatisfaction among the European Christian community but the new technology of printing press allowed for the spread of his ideas. Many printed works included woodcuts and other illustrations, so that even those who could not read could grasp the main ideas. Hymns were a...

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...lergy in the new Protestant churches. Luther’s ideas also appealed to townspeople who envied the church’s wealth and resented paying for it. After cities became Protestant, the city council taxed the clergy and placed them under the jurisdiction of civil courts. Luther worked closely with political authorities, viewing them as fully justified in reforming the church in their territories. He instructed all Christians to obey their secular rulers, whom he saw divinely ordained to maintain order. Individuals may have been convinced of the truth of Protestant teachings by hearing sermons, listening to hymns, of reading pamphlets, but an area only became Protestant when its ruler brought in a reformer or two to reeducate the territory’s clergy, sponsored public sermons, and confiscated church property.

Works Cited

McKay, et.al, History of the World Societies chap.15

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