The Protestant Reformation was a religious, cultural, intellectual and political upheaval that occurred in the I6th century splintering Catholic Europe. The Protestant Reformation introduced and established beliefs and structures that defined the contemporary religious era. Martin Luther is the leading reformer attributed to the Protestant Reformation through his work that challenged the authority of the Catholic Church. Up to the 16 th century, the Catholic Church was a strong institution having spiritual, social and political powers. The Popes based in Italy, Rome, controlled the Roman Empire, which comprised of Italian city-states, Spain, France and England. The Catholic Church did not only manage Christian practice but also governed the people. The Protestant Reformation initiated the separation of religious and political powers in the society a move that was forcefully contested by the Catholic Church through the Counter-Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation is significantly a product of its time. The concurrent intellectual and cultural developments enabled the spread of this revolution. Martin Luther was German Professor of Theology and monk who initiated the Reformation through his postings on the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The postings were opposing the Church doctrines, such as the sale of indulgences 1 . During this time, the printing press was developing very quickly and enabled him to print his postings for the people. Also, during the same time, intellectual developments such as the translation of the Bible into other languages such as German, French and English occurred. This enabled people to access information about the Christian doctrine directly. These developments promoted the Reformation since people could get information and realize the contradiction between the Bible and some of the Christian practices propagated by the Catholic Church. The revolution spread across Europe and the rest of the world, consequently defining modern Christianity.
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Bibliography
Hillerbrand, Hans J., ed. The protestant reformation. Springer, 1968.
1 Hillerbrand, Hans J., ed. The protestant reformation. Springer, 1968.
