What Caused The Reformation Dbq Essay

Furthermore, with so many taxes going to Rome, along with such practices as the immunity of the clergy, the nobility held similar views toward the Church. Hence the Reformation presented an intriguing opportunity to break with the church and to align against the emergent national rulers - particularly in the Holy Roman Empire with the Catholic Charles V in power. It would not be until the Diet of Augsburg and the subsequent formation of the Schmalkaldic League that the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire would formally align against the Catholic emperor. Despite Charles' anti-Protestant proclamation at the meeting, with the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, the division of the Holy Roman Empire was firmly established. These events which transpired in the first years of the reformation will firmly establish the basis for the massive religious wars which are to sweep the continent in the coming years. Furthermore, these new Protestant alliances will come to define international politics in the next century. The impact of these first years of the Reformation perhaps will not be fully realized until the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, when the Holy Roman Emperor will lose nearly all his power as some 300 German states gain their independence.

As a result, Henry VIII broke away from the church in Rome and by 1533; Archbishop of Canterbury had power to annul marriage. This was followed by the Act of Supremacy (1934) which made Henry, Supreme Head of the Church of England. This is another example of the growth in power of the state as Henry transferred power from Rome to his own state. This example in England shows just how key a development the growth of the state was.

Moreover, in c. 1524, millions of peasants rebelled against the nobles for equality and humanity. Many countries in Europe therefore followed this notion of reformation and therefroe lead to Europe dividing by denomination. This consequently brought religious wars such as the French Wars of Religion.

The Roman Catholic Church grew from an outlawed and persecuted religion to a well-organized and powerful ruling body in the western world. After the death of Jesus of Nazareth his disciples begin to spread his teachings of love and salvation through a single God. However, early Christians quickly became seen as a threat to the most powerful Empire at the time; Rome. Being monotheistic they refused to offer sacrifice to state ran cults and as pacifist they refused to join the army. The Roman Empires power laid in both the military and taxation so early Christians became the targets of persecution. In 64 CE Rome declares Christianity illegal and it remained so for almost three hundred years. However, Christianity doesn’t die and when Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal with the Edict of Milan 313 the church grew quickly. Later Emperor Theodosius declares Catholic Christianity the official religion of Rome and bans paganism. From here the Catholic Church grew in power and influence becoming the single most powerful institution the western world. Socially it controlled the everyday lives of people and played a major role in the governing of those same people. Institutionally the church was well organized and based on hierarchy operating like an empire similar to the one that tried to destroy it early in its history. Thanks to this the church also wielded tremendous governing power. However, this all changed

On June 1st, 1381, a county in the East of England by the name of Essex broke

Henry was a proclaimed Catholic and worshiped as one. However, during his reign as king, England became a wholly protestant country. While Henry was in his eighteen-year marriage to Catherine, Henry was very involved in the Roman Catholic church. (F) In fact, he was a part of the Holy League which worked to block France from taking territory in Italy. He and the Pope were also against the protestant views of Martin Luther.(F) Later, in 1533, Henry had some problems with his faith when he and his brother’s widow Catherine couldn’t have children. They had four children that died. This, and the Bible verse from Leviticus (20:21) that says, “If a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an impurity. He hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless”(A), led Henry to believe that God did not approve of their marriage and they would never be able to have children together. Eventually, Henry’s worry about the succession led to the 1534 act of supremacy which made him the head of the church, which in turn led to the revolution of the Catholic church.(C) To make his subjects acknowledge this, he made them take an oath of allegiance that he was the most powerful person in the church, and if they didn’t, they would have consequences. This led to violence, and eventually England becoming a protestant country. Henry’s life of faith was very complicated and most of these complications were because of his personal life

The Protestant Reformation was the culmination of over 200 years of chaos within the Church. (Causes of Reformation, p.427) The chaos was the result the misconduct of both the pope and the Church, the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press as well as the rise of new perspectives with regard to the practices of Christianity. All of this contributed to the success over time, of the movement.

The Reformation proved to be somewhat of a complicated time period, but why? This question carries with it many more, but the real mystery at stake here is whether everyone’s actions were solely in the act of God, or if they were hiding something deeper at hand.

St. Augustine, a Catholic saint that helped developed the Western Catholic Church, once said “ There is nothing more serious than the sacrilege of schism because there is no just case of severing the unity of the church” (St. Augustine). Through this quote it is learned of the significance of the Catholic Church saw to staying together and avoiding a schism( a split between parties based on different beliefs). The Catholics believed that in the event of a break in the church would cause a great disaster because they believed that the church needs to stay together as a whole or it would be blasphemy, and heresy. The Church also believed that if the church was to have a schism it would destroy the unity and sanctity of the church. This in fact would be believed to take away from the church in the manner of it not being the only church with the same mission. Therefore when King Henry VIII ( the second Tudor, monarch, who ruled from 1509-1547) separated from the Catholic Church it went completely against the mission that St. Augustine was trying to teach us through his comments about the church having a schism. The dangers it could have caused were believed to lead to a destruction of the church and lead to the end of the Catholic Church all together. Although there are people that view King Henry VIII actions as positive for Europe and beneficial to Europe especially England, it should be seen that King Henry VIII actions were not actually

The protestant reformation had vast effects on leadership in Europe, or in some cases leadership had vast effects on the protestant reformation.in the cases of Martin Luther (1483-1546) and Henry VIII of England (1491-1547), the examples this writer has chosen, will illustrate that the reformation solidified the authority of the Secular governments at least in Germany and England Respectively as these cases show. Luther takes away authority from the Pope and thus the Catholic Church, thus solidifying the secular authorities of the region; and Henry VIII founds the Church of England originally for his own purpose of divorce but he and his descendants use the Church of England for their own individual needs for power and influence.

"And of these Henry, with all his inconsistencies, was a constant defender" (Stubbs 37). Yet, when the Pope rejected the King’s desire for a divorce, Henry’s whole belief in the Catholic faith seemed to have died entirely. As a result, the King’s proclamation of the Act of Supremacy officially caused England to part ways with the Catholic Church. As a result of the dismissal of the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England became the new head religion of the nation, and King Henry VIII was named head of the church. Subsequently, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church had absolutely no say over any theological affairs in the nation of England. The citizens of England also became apart of this new Church of England. As a result of the breaking away from the Catholic Church, this foreshadowed the rise and conversion towards Protestantism in the nation of England. King Henry VIII enforced a policy called the “Dissolution”, which was the forceful termination of any convents and monasteries in England at the time. Also, any revenue recovered from these institutions was put forth to the English Parliament, to be used for alternative programs that would benefit the nation of England. These programs included things such as enhancing England’s protection against any possible attackers.

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th century religious movement in Europe that occurred because of the rise of new monarch powers, the Church’s weakening authority, financial debt in the Church, and attacks on religious beliefs. The rise of new monarch powers was a political issue that involved kings challenging the Pope’s control as the supreme ruler of Europe. Now that Europe was becoming more centralized, the power of the nation-states was declining. The law and government of the regional ruler overpowered the law and customs of local towns. These towns were slowly losing their political freedom and independence by being forced to follow the standards of the supreme ruler, which aggravated them and gave them a reason to revolt. Another cause of the Reformations was the weakening authority of the Catholic Church. It began to weaken when there were two Popes, one in Avignon and one in Rome. This was confusing and the public did not know who to follow. This symbolized instability in the Church and tarnished their image. Also, the Church’s financial debt was an economic factor that was involved in causing the Reformation. When Giovanni de Medici became Pope Leo X, he was greedy and spent much of the Church’s money on drinking, fancy clothes, women, and hosting elaborate dinners every night. These actions quickly put the Church in debt, and Pope Leo X needed to find a way to earn money, so he began selling indulgences (forgiveness for sins) and keeping the money. This

The chaotic times the Reformation brought upon Europe in the beginning of the 16th century affected their politics immensely. Europe became divided along confessional, as well as territorial lines as soon as the Catholic Church had their opinion on a man named Martin Luther being a “Protestant.” Martin Luther was a German Catholic and professor of theology at Wittenberg and began studying law and business. “Lecture, [August 28th,2017]” The chaotic times in the religious aspect, led to war. These wars within the states and between many, especially the Thirty Years’ War, in 1618 and eventually ending in 1648, destroyed Europe.

The Protestant Reformation of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries brought many changes to Europe regarding political and religious systems across various areas. Not only did the disagreements sever relationships between notable political authorities, it also created divisions within the church that would last for years to come. As turmoil rose and wars broke out, many people were left with the tough decision of either following the new path set in motion or staying with a system that had been used for many years before. Martin Luther, an influential leader that spoke against the practices of the Catholic church, based his arguments on scripture and Christian faith. Ultimately, the changes that were caused by this reformation can be accounted for the stress and political partitions that were created between the upper and lower class. One such group that was faced with the backlash were the German peasants, who, around 1524, rebelled against their oppressive leaders. However, their demands were not met with satisfaction. Martin Luther, as well as many others, did not believe that the peasants’ issues were to be placed in the context of the religious reformation.

The Protestant Reformation truly changed the world, but it didn’t just happen in one short revolution. There were many factors and events that contributed to the Protestant Reformation. Among these events, there were two “Great Schisms” that lent themselves to the reformation. The first occurred in 1054, and dealt with the splitting of the eastern orthodox catholic church, and the roman catholic church. This precursor event lead to the second, and more relevant Great Schism of 1378, where multiple men declared themselves Pope, and the catholic church lost even more of its power.