Why People Wanted Reform

By the early 1500s, many people in Europe were unhappy with the Roman Catholic Church. Some church leaders had grown wealthy and powerful. Many practices seemed unfair or corrupt. For example, the Church sold indulgences—documents people could buy to supposedly reduce punishment for sins. Other problems included simony (the selling of church offices) and the use of Latin in services and Bibles, which most people could not understand.

These problems caused frustration among regular believers and even kings and nobles. People began to question Church authority and wanted reforms that would return Christianity to its original values. This movement would lead to the Reformation, a major split in the Church that changed European history.

Martin Luther: A Call for Change

In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church by writing the Ninety-Five Theses, a list of arguments against Church practices. He nailed them to the door of a church in Wittenberg, starting a debate that spread across Europe.

Luther believed that salvation came from faith alone, not from good works or buying indulgences. He also taught that the Bible, not Church leaders, should be the main source of religious truth. He translated the Bible into German so that ordinary people could read it. These ideas challenged the Church’s authority and encouraged others to think for themselves.

The Pope excommunicated Luther, but he gained support from German princes and towns. His followers became known as Protestants, a name that came from their protests against the Church. Lutheranism became the first major Protestant faith, spreading across northern Europe.

John Calvin: Faith and Discipline

Another reformer, John Calvin, built on Luther’s ideas and helped spread Protestantism even further. Calvin was a French lawyer and preacher who believed in predestination—the idea that God had already chosen who would be saved. He also believed that church communities should be well-disciplined and follow strict rules.

Calvin’s ideas took hold in Switzerland and later spread to France, Scotland, and the Netherlands. His followers—often called Calvinists—built schools, organized churches, and taught that people should work hard and live modestly. Calvin’s teachings shaped both religion and society, especially in areas that wanted to break away from Catholic control.

Impact on Europe

The rise of Protestantism broke the religious unity of Europe. Countries and regions split between Catholics and Protestants, leading to political conflict and wars. Protestant leaders worked with local governments to build new churches, schools, and laws based on their beliefs.

At the same time, the Catholic Church began its own reforms, known as the Counter-Reformation, to stop the spread of Protestantism and fix some of the problems that had caused people to leave. This period led to more personal religious choices, the spread of literacy through Bible reading, and the growth of new Christian denominations that still exist today.

Source: Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Rise of Protestantism