As the people watched the church decay morally through the Renaissance they became more and more worried about what this meant for them in the afterlife. Thus the Reformation was a direct result of a buildup of social, economic, religious, and political problems that manifested itself into a general animosity towards the Catholic Church. The most important figure of the Reformation is without a doubt Martin Luther. Luther created the rally cry that thousands across Europe answered by criticizing the Catholic Churches practices and carrying on the work of other Christian Humanists like Erasmus. We see an example of one of Luther’s critical writings in Document 8.
This continued until Henry VIII, so desperate to produce a male heir, broke Papal control over England and named himself Head of the Church that taught an offshoot of Christianity based on the teachings of Martin Luther, the Protestant Church of England. This change did not make much difference, as the main different was the head of the Church and belief about divorce. Many more changes came after Henry died in 1547 and Edward VI became king. Edward, led by his advisors, moved England completely from Catholicism and to Protestantism. He passed laws such as making churches and bishops more plain, services be said in English and creating the Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and a refined version in 1552.
He also made a start on reforming religion; in July 1547 he introduced the Book of Homilies and paraphrases, a religious document that had to be placed in every Church. Then in December 1547 the Act of Six Articles was repealed, this was a document that had re-established Catholic Doctrines. All of these policies were reforming religion and moving towards the Protestant way of running the Church, and Edward hoped that the introduction of Protestant readings, for example Cranmer’s first prayer book in 1548, would lead people to begin to convert to Protestantism. However religious revolution progressed far further under John Dudley the Duke of Northumberland, following Somerset’s fall from power. Despite originally being more conservative himself, and supporting that side of the Privy Council, he understood the need for religious reform under Edward and in 1550 all conservatives and Catholic Bishops, such as Gardiner, were
How far was the Pilgrimage of Grace caused by religious factors? (24) The Pilgrimage of Grace was an uprising in York in October 1536 headed by Robert Aske, a lawyer, protesting the Crown’s break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries. There are many factors that contribute to the pilgrimage of grace such as religion, social and economy, and politics. In the Lincoln and Pontefract articles of 1536 many articles clearly held religious meaning, suggesting that the Pilgrimage was caused by religious factors. For example in the Lincoln Articles it states that the rebels wanted “an end to suppression of religious houses” and “bishops in England do not have… the faith of Christ”.
“Men, Women and Schools of thought love have reformed and/or revitalized the Christian Tradition” This statement remarkably reflects on Martin Luther’s impact on Christianity. Martin Luther generated significant effects on Christianity in his life time and in the present through institutional, theological and liturgical impacts. His influences has resulted in immense change in Christian denomination’s reforming and revitalizing their dynamic beliefs towards Christianity. Martin Luther’s disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching of Selling Indulgences caused the different changes within Christianity and hugely impacted the foundation of the Protestant Reformation. He objected to the activities of the Church and attacked doctrines of indulgences and penance and published
Sources 7, 8 and 9 all voice their opinions on the matter, both sources 7 and 8 disagree with the hypothesis whilst source 9 remains undecided in the matter. Source 7 highlights the reasons as to why the bible translation is required along with reform. William Tyndale, the author of source, says how ‘the scripture ought to be in the mother tongue’ and that the arguments ‘against’ translation are simply ‘false tricks to make you follow them blindly’. This is suggesting to us that the Christian church, under the pope, is a manipulative order in which the majority of its subjects have no intelligible idea as to what rules and laws they are abiding to. This was recognised by many minor factions within the German lands at the time and new revolutionary protestant ideas were emerging which caught Henry’s eye.
During the 1400- 1517, the conditions of the church changed. With the papal conflict with the German emperor Frederick II, followed by the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism it damaged the prestige of church leaders badly. The Renaissance was a period of rebirth and renewal. During the Renaissance, essential figures such as Martin Luther, Pope Leo X and Pope Nicholas, were accountable for the Protestant Reformation. According to(2000), “The four main Protestant traditions that emerged from the Reformation were the Lutheran (known in continental Europe as Evangelical), the Calvinist (Reformed), the Anabaptist, and the Anglican.
Assess the significance of the struggle for political power in influencing the Reformation from 1500-1610. T he struggle for political power was exceptionally significant in influencing the reformation from 1500-1610. The European reformation was a period of intense, yet inconsistent, religious and political change across Central Europe. Protestantism was challenging the widespread acceptance of Catholicism, whilst also threatening the power of the church authorities. Martin Luther, the most significant figure in the early development of Protestantism, took hold of the reformation during this period and popularised its beliefs, basing them on his interpretation of the scriptures.
Was there really a threat to the Elizabethan regime from the Puritans? In 1559, Elizabeth created a religious settlement, which was mainly Protestant, but included many Catholic teachings. In theory, the settlement would end religious controversy and unite the people of the country. However, in practice, this didn't happen, as there was opposition to the settlement, from both Catholics and Puritans. Puritans were extreme Protestants who believed that Elizabeth's religious settlement was not enough – they believed that the Anglican church was still too much like the Roman Catholic Church.
It was the 16th century, a time when change was on the horizon. For one thousand years, the Roman Catholic Church had been in charge of Europe and of the theology in Europe. Internal changes, such as the age of Discovery, the Scientific Revolution, and the advent of the printing press all brought about a revolutionary change to Christianity. It was during this time that one remarkable monk, Martin Luther, posted his ninety-five theses, a scathing indictment of the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. He wanted to reform the church, but created a new denomination instead.