Reformation: Europe’s Religious Revolution

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Secondary Reasons
Mover of the Reformation
The Ultimate Cause of the Reformation
Conclusion
Work Cited

Introduction

Starting in Germany, the Reformation swept Europe, forever dividing it into Catholics and Protestants. These events reshaped the political balance of power, significantly impacted all subsequent history, and laid the foundation for religious wars. The Reformation became a church schism, as a result of which the Protestants separated from the Roman Catholic Church, which, in turn, later also split into many directions and currents. The Reformation in Europe ended the absolute dominion of the Catholic Church in European states since, in some decades, many countries became wholly or almost entirely Protestant.

This socio-political and religious trend forever changed the face of Europe, and the Protestantism it generated became one of the three main areas of Christianity in the world, along with Catholicism and Orthodoxy. At the same time, the essence of the Reformation was more revolutionary than evolutionary – events developed rapidly, accompanied by riots, wars, and repressions. The primary mover of the Reformation is not a historical event or a coincidence, but one man, Martin Luther. Among the various reasons for the reformation, the most prominent is the crisis of the Catholic Church, the superiority of which is associated with its mass character.

Secondary Reasons

Secondary reasons for the Reformation include the persecution of science by the Catholic Church, the interference of the Church in secular life, as well as taxes and corruption. These reasons can be classified as secondary because they influence only some of the society layers. They all influenced specific segments of the population, thereby not leading to a split in the organization. The crisis of the Catholic Church affected all sectors of society, thus playing a unifying role.

Mover of the Reformation

The fact that one person could split an organization that had existed for several centuries is incredible. October 31, 1517, ed the official beginning of the Reformation, the same day that Martin Luther published his 95 Theses, which criticized the Catholic Church (Wallace 61). At the same time, speeches against papal authority have happened before, but they were completely different: earlier critics considered the problems of the Church through the prism of humanity, and Martin Luther began to criticize church dogmas. Thus, the publication of his 95 Theses is considered the main event that started the Reformation in Europe.

The Ultimate Cause of the Reformation

The main reason for the Reformation, as mentioned in the introduction, is the crisis of the Catholic Church. Some abusive practices, such as exploiting power and selling indulgences for the forgiveness of sins for a fee, caused mass discontent (Wallace 62). In addition, many questions were raised by people who are the leaders of the church. Many Catholic clergies were ignorant, stupid, and greedy, which created a negative image of the Church (Wallace 62). As a result, the social gap between parishioners and clergy significantly increased. Meanwhile, the highest church hierarchs lived in luxury while reminding parishioners of the need to be modest and humble, and people were outraged by this duplicity (Wallace 62). All these factors served as the beginning of the crisis, which, as a result, caused the emergence of such personalities as Martin Luther and a further split in the church.

Conclusion

Summing up, one can say that the crisis of the Catholic Church was the main reason for the split because it touched the most significant number of followers. All other reasons concerned only certain groups of people, which was not enough for such a large-scale coup. The reformation itself affected all aspects of the life of all Europeans in connection with the theocratic system of power of that time. Thus, the state structure of all European countries wholly changed

Work Cited

Wallace, Peter G. The Long European Reformation: Religion, Political Conflict and the Search for Conformity. 3rd ed., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

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Reformation: Europe’s Religious Revolution

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