The Reformation

The Reformation was a protest movement aiming to reform the Catholic Church. It came about at a time when there was a new interest in humanism – the belief that humans are in control of their own destinies. Aware of the growing discontent with the way the western Christian Church was run, reformers suggested new forms of worship, to create a new relationship between the people, the Church and God.

In 1517, Martin Luther, a German monk, protested publicly at what he saw as the Church’s corruption and called for reform. His campaign led to the creation of a religious movement known as the Reformation. His ideas were taken up and spread by other reformers throughout Europe, such as Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland and John Calvin in France. This led to the formation of the Protestant (protesting’) Church.

The technology of printing spread these new ideas far and wide. The Bible, which previously had been available only in Latin (the language of scholars) was translated into local languages for all to read. Some rulers used this discontent with the Church for their own ends. Henry VIII of England, for example wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. When the pope refused to grant the divorce. Henry broke with the Catholic Church in Rome to get his own way.

Starting in 1545, the Catholic Church fought back with a movement known as the Counter Reformation. It sent out Jesuit priests to campaign against the spread of Protestantism and to convert the peoples of the Spanish empire to Catholicism. The split between Catholics and Protestants in Western Europe led to many wars as countries struggled with new religious alliances. Catholics and Protestants persecuted one another in countries throughout Europe, often in the cruelest ways.