Reading: 10D The Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation by Hans J. Hillerbrand discusses the vast changes the western world endured during the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. The sixteenth century was also an extremely busy time in history aside from the Protestant Reformation as various religious controversies existed and, new lands over seas had just been discovered.

            Leading up to the reformation it is important to understand that most people were extremely religious. Several criticisms of the church’s clergy and interpretations led people to call for reformation. A German theology professor named Martin Luther was responsible for bringing these problems out into the open by unifying these criticisms. Luther’s publication of his Ninety-five Theses is considered the start of the reformation. Luther did not originally intend stir up controversy with his critique of the doctrine of indulgences. Knowledge of Luther’s work began to spread as people supported his opposition of the infallibility of the church’s general council and Pope. Supporters joined Luther’s reformation for various reasons and by 1521 Luther had a strong presence throughout Germany. In 1520 the Catholic Church deemed Luther’s teachings heretical and he was excommunicated. Reformers decided to disconnect from the Catholic Church in order to explore the role of the church in society, and different forms of worship.

            In other parts of Europe other Reformation efforts grew criticizing the Church for reasons similar to Luther. Although similar issues brought about these reformations, they differed on their individual theological opinions. One of the most notable reformers who differed from Luther was Zürich reformer Huldrych Zwingli. Luther and Zwingli agreed on the same basic understanding of the New Testament, but Zwingli interpreted the Lord’s Supper differently. Radical forms of Protestantism also arose, most significantly the Anabaptists whose practices required a second baptism. The Anabaptists were often involved in violence and persecution. England reformers followed many of Luther’s proclamations, but its reformation was unique. King Henry VIII took advantage of the anti-Roman feelings of the reformation and separated the Church of England from the main Catholic Church. This separation was controversial as Henry’s motivation to separate the English Church was largely to gain an annulment and he declared himself “supreme head of the church”. Under Henry the English church remained predominately catholic. Henry’s son Edward VI took the church in a more Protestant direction but his short reign and Catholic predecessor hindered the spread of Protestantism in England. Queen Elizabeth I would instill a moderate form of Protestantism in England over the course of her long reign through the second half of the sixteenth century. John Calvin, a reformer in Geneva, led a strict reformation that sought to change society.

            The various forms of Protestantism grew throughout Europe to the point where legal recognition became necessary. Some areas of Europe adopted Protestantism more quickly and easily than others, but by the end of the sixteenth century Europe had transformed to a predominately Protestant continent. The Protestant Reformation affected all of Europe at essentially simultaneously. The way that reformers are viewed in history may not be completely accurate, as historians believe that many figures are viewed more positively than they may deserve. Protestants believed that they were following authentic catholic beliefs that the papal church had moved away from. Reformers did not question Christological definitions made by the early church, they simply believed they were correcting abuses of the Catholic Church. Reformers asserted that people were directly connected with God through their personal faith rather than their loyalty to the Church. Protestantism also focused on the importance of the Bible as the only source of true Christian truth. Protestants accepted only proclamations and ideas that agreed with the bible. The concept of vocation was important as it stated that all human actions are the fulfillment of a divine call. The ideas of Protestantism were influential in many of the social and economic changes of its time mainly as a result of the fact that Protestantism focused largely on the concept of the individual. The spread of Protestantism and its ideals was helped largely by the use of publications that allowed for information to spread more rapidly than ever before. Luther was largely influential in publications as he produced many short books that spread his beliefs translated into various languages.