Causes of the Reformation - Case Study Example

Causes of the Reformation Essay Causes of the Reformation Essay The protestant reformation can be regarded as the greatest religious movement since the advent of the early church. The reformation acted as a basis for the revival of the Biblical theology as well as the theology of the New Testament. Several factors caused the protestant reformation. The reformation can be attributed to the numerous efforts of groups opposed to the Roman Catholic Church. Some of the causes of the reformation included papacy, purgatory, auricular confession, and the worship of saints and pilgrimages.

Factors such as the corruption of the papacy, decline of the scholastic and monasticism theology, as well as the revival of the Roman and Greek classics also caused the reformation. The invention of the printing press was also a contributing factor, as it led to the republishing of the Greek New Testament (Hillerbrand, 2009). Social and political conditions in Europe leading up to the Reformation Before the Protestant Reformation, most people subscribed to the Roman Catholic religion, which held the belief that Pope was directly appointed by God.

Prior to the Reformation, cities and key towns emerged as a result of rise in population. The age of Renaissance was also rife, and it encouraged people to think and be innovative. Politically, the Roman Catholic Church has absolute powers in Europe, and it had an immense impact on governance and the ruling class (Spitz, 2003). Some of the main figures in the Reformation The most common figure during the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther King who wrote 95 theses, which reacted to the sale of indulgences.

Other figures included John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Knox (Gray, 2003). The result of the Reformation The Protestant Reformation had some impacts on the church in Europe; it led to the establishment of Protestantism in Europe. As a result, people found a new faith, which characterized itself with spiritual faith. The Catholic Church lost its political power as well as power over the masses. The taxes collected by the Kings from their subjects were not meant to go entirely to the Church.

Consequently, European countries become wealthy enough and independent enough to protect themselves from the army of the Pope and reduce reliance on the Pope’s protection (McGrath, 2012). References Gray, M. (2003). The Protestant Reformation: Belief, Practice, and Tradition. Sussex: Sussex Academic Pres. Hillerbrand, H. J. (2009). The Protestant Reformation: Revised Edition. New York: HarperCollins. McGrath, A. E. (2012). Reformation Thought: An Introduction. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Spitz, L. W. (2003). The Protestant Reformation, 1517-1559. London: Concordia Publishing House.