Western Civilization (1300-1700): The Protestant Reformation - Term Paper Example

?WESTERN CIVILIZATION (1300-1700 THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION The Protestant Reformation is definitely one of the many events that took place during the Western Civilization. This is a historical event that took place in the 16th-century. It concerns the split within Western Christianity during the Western Civilization. It was initiated by Martin Luther from Germany, who was later joined John Calvin from France, and other early Protestants. They were up against the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrines as well as rituals. They also protested against the Church’s ecclesiastical structures. Accordingly, they pushed for the establishment of national Protestant churches. The reformation is also believed to have been triggered by some earlier events in the Western world. Examples of such events were the Black Death and the Western Schism. These events had successfully corrupted the people’s faith that they had had on the Roman Catholic Church. Together with other pressing issues within the Church saw the beginning of sharp criticism of the Church, and eventually the formation of Protestantism.1 The Protestant Reformation has been an issue with great debates all over the world. My paper seeks to discus how it reformatted the course of the Western Civilization. This task will take into consideration how it influenced people’s perception of the Catholic Church and the doctrines as well as rituals it proposed to replace some of the controversial Catholic ones. It will also take into consideration how it influenced people’s general view about life during this period and their relationship with one another across the region. The Protestant Reformation, no doubt, ended the religious monopoly which had been enjoyed by the Catholic Church. It also remarkably reduced the Church’s domination on the intellectual way of thinking. Having started in Germany and later spreading to other parts of Europe, this reformation carried with it a lot of political instability in the region. Fierce wars had arisen between the Catholics and the Protestants, making the region a fragile territory. The war also extended to various states depending on whether they were Protestants or Catholics. There were intentional murders and fatal mistreatments carried out on the people on the two sides. An ugly scene would emerge when Protestants started killing fellow Protestants on the grounds that their religious beliefs were different. In addition, some political leaders had strongly subscribed to the belief that only religious unity would assure them of peace in their territories. As such, they fought against the reformation as much as possible. It is this belief that saw Calvinists of France and England chasing away Catholics from their territories. There was also an ugly scenario in the regions within Ireland and the Roman Empire, where both Protestants and Catholics found themselves in the deadly Thirty Years War, which left thousands dead. In the war were France and Denmark, as well as Sweden, within the German territory.2 The Papacy also responded to the spread of Protestantism by putting armed groups in place to eliminate the emerging Protestant faiths such as the Jesuits. This too compounded the lack of peace in West Europe as well as creating political instability in the area. Spain, on the other hand, was the superpower of the period. She was mainly composed of Catholics. She enforced Catholicism on her conquered territories such as Netherlands and Belgium. She responded fiercely against the expansion of Protestantism in this region. As a result, the Dutch rebellion emerged, leading to more political instability in the region.3 The reformation also had a considerable impact on the institution of marriage. Both the Protestants and the Catholics preached the sacredness of marriage. However, Protestants could not understand why people would remain celibates if they were not strong enough to uphold celibacy. Therefore, they advocated marriage as a control for sexual immorality. The family came to be considered as the epicenter of life. The reformation also changed various religious practices and culture. They preached against indulgence and Catholics use of relics. They were also against the idea of saints and monasticism. The many celebrations that had marked the system of worship before the reformation were also dropped in the Protestant churches. People started to go to church only on Sundays. There was also the introduction of family as well as house worships. The supremacy status which had been accorded to Catholic clergy was also dropped, with insistence on the Bible as the supreme God’s word, and that there was no one superior to others. This also gave people the freedom to start interpreting the Bible as they understood it. For Luther, it is the internal purity that mattered and, therefore, he discouraged Protestants from engaging in external shows of salvation. This movement did not only act spiritually, but it also it encouraged independent form of thinking and creativity.4 I strongly believe that it was partly because of this reformation that feudalism dug its own grave, giving rise to capitalism and individualism. It also played a crucial role in promoting democracy in Europe, and this influence spread to other parts of the world. It is also partly because of this that the clergy started seeing ordinary people as equal to them in the eyes of God. This equality can be attributed to people’s hard work to earn it and, therefore, it is not given by any individual. Protestant Civilization Protestant Reformation encompassed a number of changes proposed to transform the nature of the world religion. The main proponent and flag bearer of the quest for religious reformation was Martin Luther of Germany. According to the arguments listed by Martin Luther, reformation was required to repair the purported corrupt nature of the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, the need for reform was intended to change the Bible language from complex Latin language to simpler language that could be understood by majority of Christians5 The church that was to be reformed was perceived by the Martin Luther as full of greed, unfairness and needed more accessibility by all people despite the class status of Christians. Church reform had been a long dream of the English people having started in the 14th century but faced impediments by the influential forces of the Catholic Church6. During this time round, Martin Luther was steadfast about reform and managed to get a lot of support from a broad range of Catholics and citizens who expressed dissatisfaction with the rule of Pope and the church. 7Despite the struggle by Luther in his determined fight for reformation of the church with the accomplice of other civilians, King Henry VIII was steadfast to oppose the endeavors of Martin Luther. To the support of King Henry VIII was the Pope of the Catholic who concretely applauded the document written by the King in 1521 in rejecting the requests and desires of Martin Luther. However, having learned the mood of the country reflected from the desires and wishes of the civilians, King Henry VIII objected to allow the Bible translation from the initial Latin language to common English language. It is thus coined that the move by the King was not out of his full wishes but rather because of political schemas, considering the fact that he directed for spending of money and sales of land that belonged to the church. It is thus marked that the accent by the King to validate translation process of the Bible from Latin to English laid the foundation for the development of Protestantism and beginning of the actual reform in the Church of England8. During the subsequent reigns of Edward and Elizabeth in England, the process of Protestant reformation assumed an upward gradient thereby coming to completion in 1603. The revolutionary events wavered by the Protestant Reformation pitted Protestants and Catholics in dire enmity and making personal choice on whether to be a Protestant or Catholic could leave one in ridge of death and life depending on the regional majority group. The impetus of Protestant Reform in Europe was fanned by the increasing transformation of gospel of salvation into a process of unnecessary rituals9. The sacrament was turned into a ritual process and more personalized by the priest. Furthermore, the need for Protestant Reform brewed as a result of open public observation of the way the pope and the entire Church administration lost direction seeking for kingship respect rather than holding to their initial responsibilities of spiritual leaders who guide the vulnerable ships of Jesus. Another propellant of Protestant Reformation was Mr. John Calvin who had good knowledge of humanism and law. 10Calvin was in the light of reformation from 1509 to 1564. He got into the journey of reformation through the influence of translation of the New Testament that was done by Erasmus and by reading certain documents written by Martin Luther. In 1533, Calvin conveyed information at Paris with messages renouncing his Catholicism. Calvin then moved from France to Basel Switzerland where he wrote his book titled the Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin spread his ideas that the fate of man as either going to hell or heaven is a predestination and that no has power to change his fate. Calvin’s work of church reformation was evidenced when he introduced the message in France and Swiss. Calvin also played a very significant role in the process of reformation as he could always make prompt response to calls of help to reformers in Geneva11. Calvin’s reformation work in Geneva was marked with periods of seriousness and determination as he could impose punishment or even imprisonment of individuals who never conformed to his way of life. Calvin subjected citizens of Geneva in strict practice of righteousness urging them to stay away from dirty behaviors and restrain from pleasures of the world. Now the spirit struggle for achievement of the Protestant Reformation was spread by Luther in Germany and Scandinavia as Calvin’s way of view spread in all over the European. 12Another notable pro Protestant Reformation was Huldrych Zwingli who spread the message of church reformation and eventual establishment of Protestant Churches across Europe and remarkably in Zurich. Zwingli was mainly tagged spread messages of ethical reforms. 13Other pro Protestant reformations were Martin Bucer and John Knox. John Knox mainly operated in Netherlands, England and Scotland where he led the Presbyterian movement. Bibliography Gray, M. The Protestant Reformation: belief, practice, and tradition. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. 2003. Myerson, A. The Foundations of Personality. Montana: Kessinger Publishing. 2004. Popper, M. The secular reformation: An analysis of the factors that led to the success of Protestantism in Germany. Retrieved December 16, 2011 from http://www.tcr.org/tcr/essays/EPrize_Reformation.pdf Spielvogel, J. Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume 2. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2009. Pp. 279-280. Moes, J. Streams of Civilization: Cultures in conflict since the reformation until the Third Millennium after Christ. Christian Liberty Press. 2007. P. 1 Cameron, Euan. The European Reformation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1991. P. 52. Read More