Was the Reformation Politically or Religiously Motivated? The Reformation begun by Martin Luther was a 16th century conflict in Europe that would shape the future of the world. Certainly the Catholic church was political, even in the 1500's, however it was religion that powered the Reformation. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church had oppressed the uneducated and poor peasants for an unjust hierarchical structure. Peasants were captive to their lords, essentially forced into servitude without wages.
For example, Alexander VI was a Borgia who gained his position by bribing of the College of Cardinals. He fathered many illegitimate children, one of whom he appointed a cardinal along with 46 others. Alexander’s daughter, Lucrezia, had an immense dowry worth 157 000, paid for by taxes. The Pope also had power to excommunicate people who disobeyed him, form laws and increase taxation. If the integrity of the Pope is lost then the Church gets a bad reputation.
The book ‘Martin Luther: The Man and the Image’ by Herbert Rix points out that Pirkheimer –a contemporary of Luther- at one time, like Erasmus, believed Luther capable of reforming the German Church, but by the end he admitted he believed Luther ‘insane’. It is theses insecurities that would lead some to believe that Luther was always destined for radical reform. His
This Theses was addressed to Pope Leo X, who was building St Peter’s. Luther was angered about this and made his opinion in the Theses that if the pope could open the doors of purgatory for people who paid, why could he not open them for all people.Luther published other scriptures against the sale of indulgences, his letter to Albrecht of Mainz and the explanation of the 95 Theses. His initial writings were catalysts in the course of the reformation, it was Luther’s anger and bravery that began the Reformation. Luther continued to publish impactful works, in 1520 he released To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, where Luther outlined the doctrine of the Priesthood of all believers and denied the authority of the Pope to interpret, or confirm interpretation of the Bible, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and On the Freedom of a Christian. These publications all became influential as they were able to spread around Germany through the German printing press and were allowing people to form their own opinions of the church rather than being told by the church what to believe.
One of the main leaders in the act to resist the Roman Catholic Church’s authority and change the ideas of Christianity in the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther. Martin Luther, a German priest in Wittenberg during the 1500s, had opposed several immoral practices of the Catholic Church not only in Germany, but also all of Europe due to the extensive reach of power
Each man although both suffered the burden of the title of being a heretic, each earned the infamous title through different manners, and each suffered contrasting consequences as a result of what was regarded as heretical practices. Each of these men earned the title of being heretics through different manners, in fact through entirely different fields, Martin Luther, for religious reasons, he was a German monk, who in reality served as an inspirational figure as a result of his
Many factors led to the rise of Protestantism, for example, events like the Black Death and the Western Schism. The most crucial factors were the reformers themselves. Two of the most famous reformers were Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. Luther was a German priest who found the ways of the Roman Catholic Church to be corrupt, he fought the church until he was named an outlaw by the emperor, and shunned by the pope. Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, and Catholic priest.
After naming himself head of the Anglican church, king Henry VII had a total control over its money and services, and in order to increase the royal income, the king made the selfish decision of bringing down the monasteries, one of the great charitable works of the church to help the poor, that resulted in the economic change of a social unrest and then division. Thus, the reformation is considered as a long-term cause for playing an important role in starting the civil war. On one other part, another leading factor appeared in 1603 with the reign of James I. James’ fervent belief in the devine rights of the king made him think that he is allowed to involve himself in all situations even the smallest one, which was not acceptable by the parliament leading to many disagreements. After the king’s trial in 1621 to marry his son Charles to the catholic daughter of the king of Spain and considering it an attempt to restore Catholicism in England, The problems had raised and the relationship between the two parties was never mended. On a third part, one final main reason of the civil war was revealed after Charles I, son of James I and the heir of the throne, took control of England in 1625.
Voltaire on Religious Tolerance During the age of Enlightenment many people, especially those belonging to the middle class, began writing against the way society lived. Many people also wrote against the church and the way the church wanted to run things. Voltaire always spoke against the church but he also believed in religious tolerance because in the end he was raised with religious beliefs that could not be forgotten. Just like John Huss and Martin Luther, Voltaire received punishment for trying to unmask the church although what they spoke the truth. This is why I believe he started this piece talking about an Irish priest who wrote a pamphlet on religious tolerance.
The Pardoner’s Tale is one of the many tales form The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Pardoner’s Tale is about a pardoner who is corrupt and is trying to profit from the public. In the prologue the pardoner is talking to his company, explaining to the that when he preaches, his voice resembles a bell and that the service is about how greed is the root of all evil, “My theme is alwey oon, and evere was Radix malorum est Cupiditas”. (Line 333-334) He is very cocky and to the people that he is traveling with and he is very confident in himself. He tells the congregation about what he claims to be relics in the glass case.