The Protestant Reformation in Europe

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The protestant reformation contributed greatly to social, political, and religious revolutions in Europe. Protestant reformation was initiated by the European Christian Reform Movement. The movement aimed at reforming the doctrine of the Catholic Church which was at that moment dominant in Europe. However, the reformation did not come easy, a counter reform movement formed and advised the Catholics on fighting back to get back the powers that the church had lost. European Catholics opposed the sale of indulgences, which the reformers considered to be a sign of corruption by the church hierarchy which included the pope. The Catholic Church considered the selling and buying of the indulgences as malpractice and as a way of spreading false doctrine. The essay explores how the protestant reformation influenced the revolution of politics and humanities (spicer 2).

Importance of the protestant reformation

The protestant reformation was a fundamental turning point to the Europeans. The transformations lead to a complete change of the social structure, it helped in the development of the native languages. Printing of educational material in the local languages led to a significant increase in the need for education. The protestant reformation also helped in the distribution of power as the overall powers of the pope were dissolved. Freedom of religion was realized as a result of revolution, official government religion was born but the choice of which religion was in the particular region. The corruption deals by the clergy which were being conducted by the pope were contained. In 1510 Martin Luther was shocked by the corruption deals of the clergy in Rome. Pope Sixtus IV gave permissions to brothels and imposed a certain levy on priest who had mistresses. The pope also generated income from the sales of indulgences which were applied on the dead. The sale of indulgences triggered Martin Luther to launch to put his grievance on a door of a church in Germany. During this time Martin Luther launched the protestant reformation movement (spicer 3).

The protestant reformation had a considerable impact on the lifestyle of ordinary people. Reformation led to remodeling of churches in which the ordinary people worshipped ritual and other practices in church changed. The reformation caused great changes on music, architecture and sculptures. Before the protestant reformation most Europeans practiced catholic faith, reformation brought up different religions which greatly affected the practices of the Europeans. People changed their lifestyle in order to fit in the new systems of religion which had impacts even on political and social aspects. After reformation some existing building designs of the churches were adapted. However, some designs were changed to symbolize the sense of holiness and sanctity of the faith in practice. Reformation changed the attitude towards sacred grounds and rituals on the dead and their burial ceremonies (Spicer 1).

Apart from losing its massive power on religious matters, the church also lost its political power after the reformation. All taxes collected from the public were given to the king who later paid the pope. Political figure received monetary assistance from the church when need arose. The king was also granted international esteem of the church apart from the monetary benefits. After the protestant reformation, taxes collected from the public were used at the direction of the king. The church no longer enjoyed the monetary benefits from the tax kitty as it was at the discretion of the ruler to give money to the church or not. Most political groups lost massive support from the church; some countries became rich and could defend themselves from the pops army hence securing their independence. Most countries gained political power and became independent they no longer relied on the pope for protection. These countries were able to brig up their own armed forces for the purpose of their security needs (Musteikis 4).

The protestation reformation led to establishment of other religions. Many issues such as emphasis on individual relationship with God came out after reformation. Movements like the Moravian brethrens were not satisfied with the previous reformation which had just taken place. They felt that the Protestants and the Lutherans did not meet the goal of bringing religion to the ordinary people. This triggered division and further exploration of options to achieve the ideal religion to date (Musteikis 7).

The protestant reformation brought many changes on the various aspects of life in Europe. Religion, political, economic and social factors underwent significant changes which were brought out by the reformation. The architectural designs of the churches were changed to suit the sanctity needs of the believers. The church ceased from being the central point of power, the corrupted deals by the clergy like the selling of indulgences which were used on the dead were eliminated.

Works Cited

Musteikis, Antanas. The Reformation in Lithuania. New York: East European.1998. Web.

Spicer, Andrew. The Protestant Reformation and the Arts.2008.Web.

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The Protestant Reformation in Europe

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