The Effects of the Printing Press on Reformation - Essay Example

Number: The Effects of the Printing Press on Reformation Introduction The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg during the mid of the fifteenth century. The reformation period in European countries involved a series of events which took place and contributed to the Church of England breaking away from the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church upheld by the pope. The invention of the printing press came with new power and publicity which led to a great reformation. The European reformation which happened in the sixteenth century was marked as one of the important events in the world’s history. The printing press invention contributed much to the mobilization of the reforms. The printing press helped in the spread of new ideas and doctrines that were available to the public in such a different way which was never experienced before. The printing press was invented around 1450 and it rapidly spread to other big cities in Europe according to Arman, Bird and Wilkinson (163). As reformation activities came to stabilize themselves, about two hundred printing centers were already established in the major cities of Europe. The printing centers were used as main producers of the works of reformation by Protestants. For instance Martin Luther was among those who first recognized the power behind printing in mobilizing ground support for reforms. The printing press took two major directions in reformation process. One of the directions was the printing of many secular books which had a profound impact in science. Thus there were major reforms in scientific work as a result of the printing press. Scientists were able to print and share their works with other scientists in various parts of Europe. The scientists could also have accuracy in their works which enhanced individual knowledge as well as understanding. The growth in scientific reforms resulting from the effects of the printing press led to the scientific revolutions. This later changed the way the Europeans perceived the world and the universe at large. The second direction of the printing press reformation was the way it took copying of books from the church. This way, it made it almost impossible for the church to control most of the written works as it did before. This was due to the large number of books that could be printed at a fraction of cost in a day. Thus it can be claimed that disunity which faced the European religious believes during the protestant reformation was driven by the rapid growth of the printing press. Martin Luther was successful in reformation activities as he was familiar with the use and effect of printing press. This way he was able to overcome other writers such as Hussites in reformation works. Reformation was considered as the first move of recovering the Lord that was aided by the effects of the printing press. Luther’s success in reformation works was also aided by the fact by the time he was born; printing had already established itself in Europe. Printing press was important to Luther reforms because of two factors. He had technical equipment which could print in large volumes and different styles. He was also capable of printing content that attracted the reader. Most of the Luther’s printed work circulated faster in Wittenberg which was a powerful center during the reformation period. Luther had three famous reformation works in Germany as a result of his effectiveness in printing press. These works included Appeal to the German Nobility, The New Testament translation as well as the Christian freedom works. The New Testament translation which was a driving force for the protestant reformation was the most popular among the works of Luther. He used a different style in writing the New Testament and a new language. He translated it into common man language; therefore people could read the bible and translate it for themselves. This followed the protestant reformations due to the different translations of the bible. The establishment of protestant churches was marked by the resulting religious movements. With the printing press which rapidly spread the translated bible, common man could read the bible and make their judgments hence end up deviating from the Roman Catholic which used the Latin written bible. It is as a result of the printing press enhancement of reformation that made people to make a choice of either being Catholics or protestant followers. Many people found dissatisfaction in the Roman Catholic Church as they felt they thought it interpreted the bible in the wrong way. Due to the immorality associated with clergy and the fact that the common man could now read and interpret the bible from their homes there was need for church reforms. However the church remained reluctant while printing press as used by Luther continued to circulate more Christian templates which people could read and feel spiritually satisfied. The common man also felt that there was need for Christian reforms which favored their spiritual desires as reflected in what they read. The printing press also affected reformation works in mass communication or literature. Before its establishment, only the rich individuals could access books. The printing press led to reduced price of books hence affordable to almost everyone. Initially most of the literature was concerned with Roman Catholic Church and it was mostly about the Bible. Luther with the help of the printing press was able to translate the bible and make available to a large population. The more the literature was published, the more new ideas evolved. This further led to the major reforms there were in mass communication and literature works. Ideas could be communicated faster around the world with the help of the printing press. For instance the Italian renaissance can be attributed to the printing press. The printing press contributed greatly to written communication hence humanism reforms. It led to improved communication among human beings as there was fast spread of information. This is perceived as humanism which refers to the revival of classical letters used in renaissance. The printing press led to the formation of scholarly values in human beings and also influenced the aspect of humanism. The printing press came up with an easier way of communication through which written letters were used in the reformation period. The use of the printing typography in the reformation works resulted to private learning as opposed to the manual learning. People were no longer learning from hearing but through reading. The printing press led to a less relationship between human beings as many people were creating relationship with press print outs. People were made more independent in maters of communication during the reformation works as they could make choice of what to read. The printing press also affected the spread of reformation. Before its introduction, issues such as public debate were mostly known in a small geographical area and contained there. Societal changes before the invention of the press took long; however after the invention such changes were possible and happened faster. This is because information could be printed in large volumes and circulated faster in a wider area. The advantage of the printing press to societal reforms was that information is not bound to mistranslation or dispute as it is in the word of mouth. Therefore without the printing press major societal shift marked during reformation could not have happened. The societal changes attribute to the scientific advancement resulting form the use of the printing press led to the development of the modern civilization. This effect of the printing press can thus be attributed to the rise of individualism since the reformation period. Some of the reforms which resulted from the invention of the printing press such as individual freedom have become permanent till today. The printing pres played a major goal in the world renaissance during the reformation works. For instance it gave way to new trends and education which grew rapidly in Europe. For instance the Northern renaissance which led to protestant reformation is attributed to the invention of the printing press. The Italian renaissance is which is attributed to the impacts of the printing press was concerned with secular ideas of the reformation works. Conclusion The printing press is therefore attributed to the modern conditions in the world. The growth of the protestant church was initiated by Luther translation of the bible as he made several printouts which people could understand and make their spiritual decision. In as far as the reformation works in communication and literature, the printing press is considered as a significant invention. This is in comparison with the invention of the computer and writing as argued by some individuals. The reason behind this is that printing services are less expensive compared to the computer use and it can spread written information faster. The printing press has improved and spread knowledge widely in a manner that was not capable before the television and radio were invented in the twentieth century. The printing technology has remained significant even today as it contributed to the spread of major reforms which have remained significant in history. Some of these reforms are the growth of the protestant church, Italian renaissance and the growth of the mass communication as they have been discussed in this paper. Work cited: Arman, Steve. Bird, Simon.& Wilkinson, Malcolm. Reformation and rebellion 1485-1750. London: Heinemann. 2002. Read More