The Reformation Dbq

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Bang! And that is how the World War I started. When one man shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the whole world decided to fight with each other in a bloody war. For a historian to say such a thing would be a huge oversight of the fact that many European nations at that time had so allied themselves with and against each other that when one nation declared war on another, every one found themselves fighting in it. In looking back at historical phenomenons, like the Reformation, it can be easy to make such mistakes. For this reason, the Reformation should be considered in its entirety and not just one happening or event in it. To consider the Reformation more closely, an account must be given for the context in which it happened, the …show more content…
Inventions like the movable type printing press in 1440 greatly enabled authors to mass produce and spread their ideas much more quickly. Plague brought death, and with that came many questions. People wanted to know why they suffered through such terrible things, and quite frankly, the church's answers wern't satisfactory anymore because they weren't working. Many kings, rulers, and archbishops wanted to reform the church simply because it meant that they would be able to gain and control more territory. To put it in simple terms, the people wanted reform.

Effects and Scope We credit Luther for starting the Reformation, but without common people to carry out and support the ideas set forth by the reformers, the Reformation would not have happened. Many poor people were tired of hearing that if they wanted to get through purgatory faster that they had to pay indulgences. They wanted something new, something better. Luther's boldness against indulgences and works based salvation animated many poor and oppressed peasants to stand out against the pope and his corrupt church. Those who followed Luther became known as Lutherans, or Protestants. Followers of John
Calvin (Calvinists) were also Protestants. They believed in predestination and in financial success as a sign of God's blessing upon them. Predictably, a hard work ethic ushered in a new system …show more content…
As the church began to lose its hold on territory and power, different regional boundaries reshaped Europe. All of a sudden, one territory was Lutheran while another was Calvinist while still another remained loyal to the Catholic church. The people gained more and more freedom to choose their own religious convictions. Strangely enough, there was a group of reformers called Anabaptists who actually believed that Christianity was not bound to a territory or a certain nation or league but was instead boundless. The Reformation was more than just religious change. Systems of capitalism drove people to view their lot in life differently. Ideas of democracy ran rampant throughout cities as city councils replaced clergymen in their duties. It was also a time of war as principality fought against principality for control of the territory: whether for religious purpose or for personal gain. At this time, the church was also struggling to maintain power which was just cause for more bloodshed as they murdered the "heretics" and "dangerous"
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