They had a long wait until 1840 to see the tax-supported status of the Anglican Church be removed, making them equal once again. Not only did the friction between Anglicans and Catholics grow before and while the era, but the tyranny of the Church of England also gave reason to former believer to dissent and form new groups such as Presbyterianism (who did not agree with the order of
They had used several immoral practices such as simony, the buying and selling of church offices. And as author Dan Petty put it, “pluralism (holding multiple offices simultaneously) and absenteeism (failure to reside in the parish where they were supposed to minister),”(Petty). Several situations in which the church displayed its power included taxations and practicing celibacy (Petty). Due to the church’s immense power, many expressed fear and became discouraged to contest its actions. 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.
In 1517 when Martin Luther posted the “Ninety-Five-Theses,” he started a chain reaction. He wrote them to express his disagreement with the church and the Popes who were
Bismarck did not help to make the Catholics feel welcome in the Confederation. Pope Pius IX that the Church was slowly losing its traditional power, so he announced that any statement he made was to be accepted everywhere by Catholics, therefore German bishops would have to obey. Bismarck similarly wanted his new government to be obeyed. The Centre party (Catholic party) began to win more seats in the Reichstag, causing concern for Bismarck as there loyalty may be to the Pope. Bismarck began to fight back, he banned the most active order of Catholic priests and introduced a law that the government had a right to inspect all schools, including Catholic ones.
Another thing that the Church was often criticized for was the lack of separation between Church and State. In all matters, whether they be religious or political, the Church, mainly the Pope, was the ultimate authority. The Protestants also had a problem with the idea of transubstantiation, or the belief that the bread and wine served at mass are literally the flesh and blood of Christ. The use of Latin in mass was also frowned upon, because no one could understand what the priest was saying. Clerical celibacy yet another thing that the Protestants didn’t like, and because of this, both Luther and Calvin were wedded.
How far do sources 1, 2 and 3 suggest that the early 16th century church exploited the faith of its followers to increase its own wealth? We know that in the early 16th century, around the time of the reformation of the church in England, much had been said about the state in which the church was in. Many opponents, such as Simon Fish, the writer of source 1, would state that the church was riddled with corruption and in a state of collapse. However, the Catholic Church still played a vital role in the life of most everyday people. Source 1, would strongly support the statement, as it aggressively attacks the church and its actions.
In the early 16th century, the Protestant Reformation divided the unity of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation movement began in Germany led by Martin Luther. His speeches and writings were passed on all over Europe with the help of the printing press. It started in response to the rising sense of corruption in the church. For instance, “the sale of indulgences for the benefit of the church of Rome specifically for the rebuilding of St. Peters Cathedral provoked harsh criticism, especially by those who saw the luxuries of the papacy as a betrayal of apostolic ideals ” (Fiero 119).
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.
There are many reasons for why the Roman Empire has fallen. One of the reasons is due to a new religion that had come about in the Roman Empire; Christianity. The beliefs of Christianity were so different from the Roman beliefs and values that people were being persecuted until Roman Emperor Constantine put a stop to it, and eventually legalized the religion in his empire. It caused many problems due to the drastic differences between Rome’s original religion, Paganism, which believed in many gods, and Christianity, which believed in only one god. Most Romans had considered their emperor to be a god, but the Romans who had converted to Christianity only believed in their own one god, and no longer respected, or even listened to their emperor.
There were no more sources to receive money from. In the 1630s Charles made changes to the Catholic Church. He decorated them and he told the clergy not to preach sermons about the Bible. These ideas upset the Puritans (extreme Protestants). Many thought he was attempting to bring back the Catholic Church.