The Importance of the Reformation - Christianity’s Transformation and Wide Scale Social Upheaval

The Protestant Reformation is a significantly more important event than the Renaissance or the Scientific Revolution. This large scale religious movement drastically altered the course of history. It reshaped the Christian religion, one of the oldest institutions in Europe. Neither the Renaissance nor the Scientific revolution had nearly the same impact on Christianity. Multiple aspects of the Catholic church were questioned by reformers. This resulted in the splintering of the church into multiple religious sects. The Reformation led to long-term change within a religion that had existed for centuries. What began as one man’s crisis of faith became the greatest religious movement in history. Martin Luther forever changed European religion. “Martin Luther started a movement for religious reform that would fracture the unity of Western Christianity.” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 447). This quote truly illustrates the impact of Luther and the Protestant Reformation on Christianity. All of western Europe was forever changed by this massive movement. It disseminated throughout the continent, transforming religion wherever it went. The printing press was key in spreading the Reformation’s message. “The invention of printing with movable type helped spread the Protestant message, which grew in part out of waves of popular piety that washed over Europe in the closing decades of the 1400s” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 447). The Reformation also transformed the social and political landscape of Europe. It led to massive upheaval in particular areas, challenging the authority of European rulers. This impacted the social order especially in Germany. Peasants revolted violently, attacking those in positions of power. “In the spring of 1525, peasants in southern and central Germany rose in a rebellion known as the Peasants’ War and attacked nobles’ castles, convents, and monasteries” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 455). The divisions in the church resulted in conflicts, and threatened the stability of many rulers. Kings and queens worried about the Reformation, and its spread throughout Europe. It was a significant threat to their power and political control. The divisions in Christianity would set the stage for later religious wars. These wars had a huge impact on people throughout Europe. Religious division wasn’t the sole reason these wars occurred. But, it did play a significant role in causing them. The Reformation is a more important event in history than the Renaissance or the Scientific Revolution. This is due to the fact that it drastically altered Christianity, one of the oldest religions, and significantly impacted the social and political landscape of Europe.

The Reformation drastically altered Christianity, one of the most influential religions in Europe. It split Christianity into varying sects, which changed the future of the western world. What began as Lutheranism broke off into numerous other religious movements. “Other Protestant reformers soon challenged Luther’s doctrines even while applauding his break from the Catholic Church. In 1520, just three years after Luther’s initial rupture with Rome, the chief preacher of Zurich, Huldrych Zwingli, openly declared himself a reformer. Like Luther, Zwingli attacked corruption in the Catholic church hierarchy, and he also questioned fasting and clerical celibacy” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 452). This quote illustrates two key ideas.

First of all, Martin Luther inspired other reformers to start their own movements. This was important because it would lead to the eventual splintering of Christianity. Secondly, significant aspects of Catholicism were challenged by the reformers. Varying facets of the church were questioned by many. The corruption in church leadership was exposed. Rituals that had persisted for millennia were disputed. One such dispute was over the Eucharist. “Zwingli disagreed with Luther on the question of the Eucharist, the central Christian sacrament that Christians partook of in communion” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 452). Religious division and new religious beliefs were important because they reshaped Christianity. Both of these things caused drastic change within the church. The alteration of Christianity is of massive significance, and directly impacted Europe’s future. Religious divisions in the church would ultimately lead to future conflicts.

The Reformation significantly impacted the social and political landscape of Europe. “The religious reformers and their followers challenged political authority and the social order, yet in reaction to any extreme manifestation of disorder, they underlined the need for discipline in worship and social behavior. Some Protestants took the phrase “priesthood of all believers” quite literally and sided with the poor and the downtrodden” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 455). This passage demonstrates two key ideas. First of all, the reformers challenged the social order and those in charge. This was quite significant, as it presented a huge threat to local authority. Secondly, Luther’s message led to new ways of thinking in society. The peasants misinterpreted Martin Luther’s message, desiring a new political freedom. The notion of the “priesthood of all believers” would ultimately influence the later birth of democracy. “When Luther described the freedom of the Christian, he meant an entirely spiritual freedom. But others interpreted his call for freedom in social and political terms” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 455). This belief in a new social and political freedom was what led to the Peasants’ War. Peasants revolted against the local kings and queens. They also attacked convents and monasteries. These wars had massive implications. The Peasants’ War split the reform movement. It also led to the death of countless peasants, reformers and urban workers. “By the end of the year, more than 100,000 rebels had been killed” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 455). Religious division threatened the stability of many rulers. Political conflict was commonly spurred by opposing religious beliefs. These differing religious beliefs originated from the splintering of Christianity. Rulers worried about their ability to maintain their power. “European rulers viewed religious division as a dangerous challenge to the unity and stability of their rule. Subjects who considered their rulers heretics or blasphemers could only cause trouble, and religious differences encouraged the formation of competing noble factions, which easily led to violence when weak monarchs or children ruled” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 466). This quote truly illustrates how the Reformation changed the future political landscape of Europe. The division of the Christian religion led to disorder. It posed a threat to rulers, and even pitted nobles against each other. Many of the conflicts that followed the Reformation were largely influenced by religious beliefs. In France religious disputes led to long and bloody religious wars. “The real drama of the Reformation in France took place after 1560, when the country plunged into four decades of religious wars, whose savagery was unparalleled elsewhere in Europe” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 466). In England and Scotland religious divisions also threatened the power of rulers. It also led to serious political and social violence. “When Mary came to the throne, she restored Catholicism and persecuted Protestants. Nearly three hundred Protestants perished at the stake, and more than eight hundred fled to the Protestant German states and Switzerland” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 466).

The Renaissance didn’t lead to change in Christianity, and also didn’t lead to large scale social upheaval. It was mainly a revival of the ancient past, and explosion of the arts. “The period associated with the Renaissance, about 1350 to 1600, revived elements of the classical past— the Greek philosophers before Aristotle, Hellenistic artists, and Roman rhetoricians. Disillusioned with present institutions, many people looked back to the ancient world” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith page 421). The Renaissance had a significant impact on the arts, but didn’t directly influence religion. Literature, paintings, sculptures, architecture and music abounded during this era. Varying creators looked back into the past, seeking inspiration from their ancestors. This was what characterized the Renaissance. “Humanists modeled their writing on the Latin of Cicero, architects embraced ancient notions of public space, artists adopted classical forms, and musicians used classical texts. They found great satisfaction in believing that they were resuscitating the glories of the ancient world” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 421). It was a time of great artistic endeavor, as varying sculptors and artists competed against one another. But this artistic fervor didn’t directly change the church in any way. Despite this, the Pope and other religious leaders patronized Renaissance art. “The church, too, was major sponsor of music. Every feast required music, and the papal schism inadvertently encouraged more musical production than usual, as rival popes tried to best one another in the realm of pageantry and sound” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith page 428). Just like the kings and queens of the Renaissance, the popes were patrons of the arts. They supported many of the artisans that sprang up, commissioning expensive work. But, this being said, the artistic fervor didn’t drastically alter western religion. This era mainly saw huge changes in the arts, and the revival of classical culture. It may have brought about significant artistic explosion and classical renewal. But it certainly didn’t change the future course of western religion. It didn’t lead to the religious division that characterized the Reformation. Religious division often spurs serious social and political conflict. As a result, it didn’t cause any signifiant social or political upheaval.

The scientific revolution did impact the church in particular ways. Despite creating new ways of thinking about religion, it didn’t significantly alter Christianity. The idea of secularization emerged during the scientific revolution. Secularization defines religion as a practice of private conscience. Religion still persisted during this era, and didn’t go through drastic change. Religion still was there, but was seen viewed than before. “Secularization did not entail a loss of religious faith, but it did prompt a search for nonreligious explanations” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 492). Natural Philosophers tried to better understand the natural world. They attempted to assign universal laws to nature. The church actually supported the scientific revolution. The scientific revolution didn’t damage or significantly alter Christianity that much at all. “The Catholic and Protestant churches encouraged the study of science and many prominent scientists were themselves clerics” (Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein and Smith, page 493). Aspects of science were disputed by the church and secular natural philosophers. But that being said, that didn’t cause any religious division, and didn’t alter the church. As a result, it didn’t lead to any significant social or political upheaval.

The Protestant Reformation was significantly more important than the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. This is due to the fact that it drastically altered Christianity. It led to the splitting of Christianity into numerous religious sects, and the questioning of religious authority and rituals. This was important because it completely transformed one of the oldest religions in Europe. Neither the Renaissance nor the Scientific Revolution did that. The Reformation also led to serious political upheaval. Religious violence, during and after the Reformation, largely occurred as a result of the splintering of Christianity. The Reformation was truly a momentous historical event, which massively impacted the future of European religion, society and politics.