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Essay On The Protestant Reformation

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Essay On The Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a religious movement throughout Europe during the 16th century. During this time, the acceptance of worshiping God how a person wanted to wasn’t met with the scrutiny that the Catholic Church dealt among non-conformists in the past. The Reformation was spurred by the teachings of Martin Luther, a former catholic monk. His ideals helped to lead entire nations into the beginning of an era of religious freedom. The Reformation also led to much of what America’s religious ideals are today. Much of what allows for religious freedom in today’s world was due to the Reformation (“Protestant 2012”).
The Reformation was a result of the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences which created animosity between the church and normal citizens. Indulgences were when the church allowed a person’s sins to be repented through payment. Problems occurred when the indulgences became an easy thing to obtain. Soon, some people became what were known as a professional pardoner. This was
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This was a result of the passing of the Edict of Worms. The Diet of Worms, a religious council in Germany, declared Luther a heretic and demanded that no one follow his teachings. This was because the fear of revolt loomed over the church’s head, which could spell out a multitude of problems for them. Martin Luther stood by his teachings and refused to renounce his writings. Thus, on May 25th, 1521 the Holy Roman emperor signed the Edict of Worms condemning Luther and his writings. The writings of Luther were burned, and he was forced to go into hiding (“Martin”). During his time of hiding, Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German. In 1524, German peasants revolted after discovering Luther’s works and his punishment dealt by the church. As a result of these revolts, Lutheranism would end up becoming the official religion of Germany and other countries by the end of the Reformation (“The

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