spread across Europe and affected every aspect of life. One of the areas most affected by humanism was that of religion. there came with humanism a certain desire for a deeper understanding of things. Humanism empowered man to seek God and to seek spiritual truth without church. In other words, man no longer needed a priest to talk to God and man no longer needed the pope dictating the will of God. Man was a free being with the ability to ask questions, seek answers, and develop spiritually on his own. According to the church, these notions were heretical. These ideas about religion sparked a century of turmoil and warfare between the Roman Catholic Church, headed by the pope, and the reformers, who sought a new and different approach to religion. Those reformers became known as Protestants, or those who protested against the church. This movement was known as the Reformation. Reformation; dawn of a new era Great religious reform movement in Europe during 15th century. big protest against the Christian Church in different parts of Europe ultimately resulted in the emergence of Protestant Christian religion. The Reformation started in Germany and later it spread to other countries. Church in 15th Century People began to question the practice of simony, or the selling of church positions. People also began to question whether or not clergymen should hold more than one church position. Corrupt clergymen Church was too wealthy; the church spent exorbitant amounts of money on art, architecture, and the extravagant lifestyles of the popes. deplorable Popes worldly monks uneducated priests; Many priests could hardly read or write in their native language, much less read or write in Latin, the language in which many theological works were written. the selling of indulgences, or the practice of granting the buyer forgiveness for his sins. Superstition and contradictions within Church Causes for the Reformation
Decline in respect and prestige of the Church
The Christian Church under the Pope originally commanded respect of the people. But in the Middle ages, it had become a big feudal institution The Popes interfered into the political affairs. As a result they began to neglect their spiritual duties. The Pope and the clergy began to lead luxurious lives. Renaissance ; created a spirit of inquiry among the masses The Renaissance created a spirit of inquiry among the masses. They began to read the Bible and realized that the activities of the Church and the clergy were not according to the precepts of the holy book. many condemned superstitious practices prevalent in the Church. John Wycliffe (1330-1384) from England criticized the Pope for his authority and misdeeds. He translated the Bible into English. He is considered the Morning Star of the Reformation. Erasmus (1466-1536) attacked the superstitions followed by the clergy in his book In Praise of Folly. It was published in 1509. Emergence of nation-states The emergence of nation-states in Europe eroded the political influence enjoyed by the Church during the Middle Ages. The people began to respect their Monarch. concept of Universal Church slowly gave way to national churches. Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Luther became a monk in 1508.
1510 he visited Rome; He was shocked to see the worldly life led by the Roman clergy. Wittenberg University; ; began his career as a professor of theology in the same university. Luther began a systematic campaign for the removal of evils of the Church. Indulgences Indulgences ; was originally meant a promise given to a sinner for the remission of punishment if he repented and confessed his sins. But Pope Leo X used the sale of indulgences to raise money. Luther opposed the practice of the sale of indulgences. According to tradition, Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenburg. Luther's Theses condemned the sale of indulgences and invited debate on the issue. Salvation according to him came from a loving God who bestows His grace without regard to merit or endeavour. God was content to give eternal life to all who would open their souls to faith in Him. Luthers perception of God
God is omnipotent and man cannot influence,
persuade, bribe, or threaten God, but can only surrender to Him. Pope Leo X got alarmed and excommunicated Luther in January 1521. Luther burnt this order in public. There he translated New Testament from original Greek into German language. He published his most popular book, the Small Catechism, in 1529.
In the Diet which met in 1526, the religious
question was raised by the German princes. The Diet gave permission to the princes to choose their own religion. But, Emperor Charles V revoked this decision in 1529. Therefore, the German princes drew up a protest and they came to be known as Protestants. Luther led a life of seclusion till his death in 1546. It was only in the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, formal approval was given by the Emperor to the princes either to remain Catholic or Lutheran. What were the central Protestant beliefs? The central Protestant beliefs were - salvation by faith rather than by works, the authority of the Bible as interpreted by the consecrated conscience, the priesthood of all Christians, the service of God in secular and clerical callings and the rejection of the Pope and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Zwinglianism; Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) paved the way for the Reformation in Switzerland Greatly influenced by humanism, specifically the work of Erasmus, Zwingli preached against all practices of the church that were not substantiated by Scripture. Zwingli preached that man did not need the pope or the church. Calvinism: John Calvin (1509-1564) ; French protest reformer Went to Geneva. After spending some time in Geneva assisting the reformation of the city, he was asked to leave. In 1541, Calvin was invited back to continue his reform of the church there. Although Calvin never became a citizen of Geneva, he drew up new ordinances for the city that governed both religious and secular aspects of life in the city. He imposed strict laws, and he saw that the laws were enforced; high moral standard of living. During the 1540s and 1550s, Calvinism spread throughout Europe and found extraordinary success in Scotland under the leadership ofJohn Knox (c.1513-1572), who founded the Presbyterian Church there. In England, the Calvinists were known as the Puritans, and in France, Calvin's followers were known as the Huguenots. Anglican Church ; Reformation in England; King Henry VIII the Defender of Faith ; English Reformation for personal reasons. Henry, a supporter of the Catholic Church, married Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) in 1509, but Catherine never produced a son for the king. In 1527, with no male heir, Henry announced his desire to divorce Catherine. Being Catholic, though, Henry was not able to get a divorce. Therefore, Henry sought an annulment on the grounds that the papal dispensation that allowed the marriage in the first place was invalid, thus making the marriage invalid. In the meantime, the king had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn (c.1507-1536), a young favorite from his court, and wanted to marry her. Pope Leo X refused to permit King Henry VIII to marry Anne Boleyn after divorcing his queen; Parliament passed an Act of Supremacy in 1534 by which the king was made the head of the Church of England. Can the Reformation be called a revolution? The Reformation did bring about a change in peoples mindset It encouraged self confidence and self determination. There is some truth in the traditional view that associates movements of political freedom and social change with the Protestant religion. Protestantism paved the way for secular thinking in Europe. scientific revolution and the removal of religion from political control owes a great deal to Protestantism idea of toleration in matters of faith, which is a necessary aspect of a secularized state, grew from the Reformation. May be considered a revolution as it sought to bring about a total change; a total overhauling of the system. Critical view Reformation could actually not eradicate corruption from the Church abuses among clergy and laity continued to trouble the Protestant Church Protestants could not change human nature overnight and produce godly people. Protestantism thus, from the very beginning was a more difficult religion than that it turned away from. Counter-Reformation
The success of the Reformation movement created a great awe and
fear in the Roman Catholic Church. Before things went out of control, it took drastic measures to check the spread of the Protestant religion and also to carry out reforms within itself. This process was known as Counter-Reformation. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) ; Spanish soldier ; founded the Society of Jesus in 1534 and it was recognized by the Pope. The aim of this Society was to reform and restore the glory of the Catholic Church. Jesuits; established schools and colleges in several parts of the world. They achieved a remarkable success in their missionary activities. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) introduced several reforms in the Catholic Church. The most glaring abuses of the clergy were removed. Celibacy was strictly enforced for them. The sale of offices was stopped. The practice of the sale of indulgences was abolished. It also stressed that clergy adhere more strictly to their duties. The success of the Counter Reformation can be understood from the fact that the rapid spread of Protestantism was halted. The Roman Catholic Church is still one of the greatest religious organizations in the world.