The Effects of the Reformation

The reformation greatly undermined the Churchs power and its impact on
everyday life. Before, the vast majority of people were no able to read the
scriptures, so the duty of interpreting them was held by the Church. After the
bible was translated into the vernacular spoken language, much more people
were opened to read and interpret the scriptures by themselves. Overall, this
lead into a more secular and humanistic society.
The reformation lead to a new branch of Christianity in Europe called
Protestantism. This new branchs doctrines put a larger emphasize on faith
and devotion to god. Europe was essentially divided north and south by the
two different branches. Later, as more denominations flourished, the overall
tolerance for different religions increased.
Right after the reformation, there was widespread feeling of intolerance
between the two branches. Depending on the location, individuals were
prosecuted for practicing either religion. This also led to wars and civil unrest
based on religious beliefs, resulting in loss of life, prestige and power.
The creation of Protestantism triggered many changes and reforms within the
Church itself, during the 16th and 17th century. The effort was known the
Counter-Reformation (also know as the Catholic Reformation), which lead to a
stronger, purer Church.
Rulers across Europe severed ties with the Church, allowing them to govern
freely in whatever sense they wanted. This created more diversity between
country and created a sense of nationalism.

Excerpts
[] 43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or
lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys
indulgences. []
62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the
glory and grace of God. []
1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" (Mt 4:17),
he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. []
86. Again, "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater
than the wealth of the
richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own
money rather than with the
money of poor believers?[]" 95 Theses, Martin Luther, 1517
This excerpt is from the text considered primary catalyst of the Protestant
movement, Martin Luthers 95 Theses, written in 1517. The first and last points
shows what inspired Luther to write the text while in was in Wittenberg. Luther says

that the sale of indulgences is just the corrupt Church trying to take money from the
poorer class. The second point outlines one of the main beliefs of the protestant
religion. Luther says that people need faith to obey god, and the ultimate ruling
power on earth is the bible. This, along with many other points, angered the church
and led to Luthers excommunication.
"Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which He has
determined in Himself, what He would have to become of every
individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar
destiny; but eternal life is foreordained for some and eternal death
for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other
of these ends, we say he is predestinated either to life or to death," Institutes, John Calvin, 1536
This quote is taken from John Calvins Institutes of the Christian Religion,
written in 1536. Calvin was one of the leading figures in the protestant movement
and his works are still read today. In the quote, Calvin talks about one of the key
components of the Calvinist religion, predestination. He says that, from birth,
humans are predestined to go to hell or heaven. Although he was a part of the
protestant movement at the time, differences like this divided them from the
Lutherans.
Of Civil Affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good
works of God, and that it is right for Christians to bear civil office, to
sit as judges, to judge matters by the Imperial and other existing
laws, to award just punishments, to engage in just wars, to serve as
soldiers, to make legal contracts, to hold property, to make oath
when required by the magistrates, to marry a wife, to be given in
marriage. Augsburg Confession, Martin Luther
This is an excerpt taken from the Augsburg Confession, one of the most
documents of the Lutheran faith. This text outlines an important part of the
Lutheran beliefs. As stated in the text, secular governments are allowed, and
countries are allowed to make there own rules. There is no mention of the pope,
which means that Lutheran states do not have to adhere to the Churchs rules. This
is important since elements like this are why the German Princes converted; so that
they had more political freedom.
However, all such as do not belong to the two above named
religions shall not be included in the present peace but be totally
excluded from it. - Article 17, Peace of Augsburg, 1555

This is an excerpt from the peace treaty signed between the Holy Roman
Emperor and the Lutheran princes. This small quote shows one of the major
problems with the peace treaty. The treaty did not give the legal basis to practice
for Calvinist and other religions. This lead to some unrest and contributed to the
start of the Thirty Years War.

Comparative Analysis
[] 43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or
lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys
indulgences. []
62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the
glory and grace of God. []
1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" (Mt 4:17),
he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. []
86. Again, "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater
than the wealth of the
richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own
money rather than with the
money of poor believers?[]" 95 Theses, Martin Luther, 1517
"Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which He has
determined in Himself, what He would have to become of every
individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar
destiny; but eternal life is foreordained for some and eternal death
for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other
of these ends, we say he is predestinated either to life or to death," Institutes, John Calvin, 1536

The difference between these two quotes outlines one of the reasons that
separated the Calvinists and the Lutherans in the 16 th century. However, in most
other respects, the two religions are very similar and are both denominations of
Protestantism. In fact, John Calvins beliefs were heavily influenced by the
teachings of Martin Luther.

Calvinists firmly stress the sovereignty of god, by practicing the belief of predestination. They believe that from birth, a person can be destined to heaven, or
damned to hell. The say there is no way to repent your sins since you were already
predestined.
Lutherans disagree and believe that you can repent your sins and enter
heaven. However, this is different than the Catholic belief of repentance through
sacraments.

Reformation: A Social Revolution

The Reformation was definitely a social revolution, because its substantial
impact on life. It brought forth changes that are similar to what we have in our
modern world. One of the most substantial would be loss of power in the Church.
This made life then more secular and humanistic, similar to todays world. People
were more free the practice their beliefs, without the fear of heresy. Also, money
was no longer spent on indulgences; bringing more economical power to the people.
The Reformation was also a political and economical revolution. German
Prince had control of the own land, and could practice their own religion on it. The
freedom from the Church allowed people to express new economical freedoms like
money lending, which gave people empowerment. These improvements led the way
for western ideas like capitalism.