- [Narrator] The Protestant
Reformation of the 16th century shook the very foundation of
Europe's cultural identity. The Reformation was a revolution of religion in western Europe. Essentially, it was the
result of centuries worth of political and social grievances against the Christian
Church as it existed. Christianity, which began
as a fledgling religion in the 1st century, had
grown by the 13th century into an institution powerful enough to rival state governments. For instance, the Pope, then the leader of the Christian Church,
had greater political and military influence than
some emperors and kings. This tension was exacerbated
by the transformative social and intellectual period known as the Renaissance. In particular, this period
involved the rise of humanism. A philosophy that shifted man's fate from being determined
by religious doctrine to being determined by man himself. Additionally, some within the Church believed it had become
increasingly corrupt. Priests like John Wycliffe of England and Jan Hus of Bohemia challenged
the Church's teachings, which they believed had
strayed away from the Bible. However, one of the most
well-known advocates for a reformed Christian Church was a German priest named Martin Luther. Martin Luther began to question the Church in the early 1500s. He believed it was abusing its power and disagreed with some of its practices. For instance, he challenged
the Church's doctrine that stated the Pope, not the Bible, was the ultimate spiritual authority. Plus, he criticized the Church
for selling indulgences, the practice of purchasing
forgiveness of one's sins by giving money to the Church. Luther believed the Church
needed to revise its doctrine by returning to the Bible's teachings and by saying that
salvation could be granted by faith in Christ alone. So on October 31, 1517,
Luther took a stand. In what's considered the birth
of the Protestant Reformation Luther is said to have nailed 95 theses, or arguments against the Church, onto the door of Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther was later put on trial
in front of Church officials to defend his theses. But in January 1521, the Church
declared Luther a heretic and excommunicated him. While Luther's membership
with the Church ended, the reformation he argued for started to gian momentum. Unlike Luther's predecessors
who challenged the church, Luther had one tool at his disposal that they didn't have. The printing press. This new invention allowed his arguments to be copied and spread across Europe. This unprecedented access
to ideas such as Luther's inspired many others to
challenge the Church, thereby splitting Christianity into two major denominations, Catholic and Protestant,
from the word protest. Also, the Bible became more accessible. Luther and other Reformists
translated Biblical texts from Latin, which was
only known by nobility and Church officials, to
German, English, and French, languages spoken by the general public. While the Protestant
Reformation revolutionized the Christian faith, it had ramifications that extended beyond religion. Prior to the Reformation, many Europeans were dependent on an educated upper class. But perhaps the most resounding
impact of the Reformation was that the common people were empowered to question religion and
other aspects of life. The Reformation, along with
technological innovations, and the introduction of other new ideas, gave many in Europe's general public the freedom and power to
decide their own fates.
