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- Reformation, the religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Its greatest leaders undoubtedly were Martin Luther and John Calvin. Having far-reaching political, economic, and social effects, the Reformation became the basis for the founding of Protestantism, one of the three major branches of Christianity.
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Reformation, the religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Its greatest leaders undoubtedly were Martin Luther and John Calvin. Having far-reaching political, economic, and social effects, the Reformation became the basis for the founding of Protestantism, one of the three major branches of Christianity.
- Causes & Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the...
- Ninety-five Theses
Ninety-five Theses, propositions for debate concerned with...
- Indulgences
Indulgence, a distinctive feature of the penitential system...
- Anticlericalism
Anticlericalism, in Roman Catholicism, opposition to the...
- Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer...
- John Calvin
John Calvin (born July 10, 1509, Noyon, Picardy, France—died...
- Protestantism
The Protestant Reformation occurred against the background...
- John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (born c. 1330, Yorkshire, England—died...
- Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation, in the history of Christianity, the...
- Causes & Effects
The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform movement that swept through Europe in the 1500s. It resulted in the creation of a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used collectively to refer to the many religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church due to differences in doctrine.
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation and the European Reformation, [1] was a major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church.
- The Medieval Church
- Early Heresies & Reformers
- Martin Luther & Indulgences
- Excommunication & The Start of Reformation
- Zwingli, Calvin, & Henry VIII
- Conclusion
The Church dominated medieval Europe (c. 476-1500) as the sole authority on spiritual matters and, as it became more powerful, influenced the spheres of politics and culture. In time, the pope became a significant political presence and, generally speaking, spent more time and effort on worldly affairs than religious matters. The hierarchy of the C...
These movements were condemned by the Church as heresies and were routinely crushed, often ruthlessly, as the clergy sought to maintain their authority and power. One of the earliest movements was the Paulicians (7th-9th centuries) who advocated a return to the simplicity of early Christianity and the life of Saint Paul (l. c. 5 to c. 67) and rejec...
Even though in the present day these reformers are recognized as the pioneers of the Reformation, there is no evidence they, initially, had any effect on the central reformist Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546), a German monk who also objected to the sale of indulgences. No matter how one chooses to date the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther stands a...
In 1520, Pope Leo X, tired of sending emissaries to reason with Luther, threatened him with excommunication unless he recanted. Luther publicly burned the edict (known as a papal bull) at Wittenberg and was excommunicated in 1521, meaning that, according to church doctrine, he no longer was in a state of grace with God and should be shunned by beli...
Luther's radical concepts were made more palatable to European intelligentsia, codified, and streamlined by his friend and collaborator Philip Melanchthon (l. 1497-1560) who is also responsible for the story of the dramatic nailing of Martin Luther's 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church. Melanchthon was an early defender of Luther, who ha...
Many other princes and nobles supported the Reformation for this same reason. The Church as a powerful political entity had been influencing land rights, successions, even wars, for centuries, and by aligning themselves with the Protestant cause, these nobles gained greater autonomy and power. The separation from the Church was not a peaceful or am...
- Joshua J. Mark
Aug 8, 2022 · Rumblings of what would become The Protestant Reformation started in the 14th century with men and woman noticing something wrong in the Church. Discover why the reformation happened and who aided the creation of Protestantism.
Dec 2, 2009 · The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs...
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Reformation, the religious revolution that separated the Christians of western Europe into Protestants and Roman Catholics. So far-reaching were the results of this separation that the Reformation has been called a turning point in history.
