The European Reformation and its historical significance

Reformation

People devote themselves to religion for a wide variety of reasons; some search for comfort during difficult times, whether these be personal or more broadly social in nature. Others are in search of a spiritual path that will bring them the inner joy so many religious leaders promise. As such, religion is as personally unique as the devotee him- or herself. As such, the Reformation as a religious movement came about at a time of particularly dire need. Several social, cultural and economic issues brought religious devotees into rebellion against the status quo of the powerful Catholic Church. As the Reformation therefore has its basis in the religious paradigm, it is also true that, as mentioned, religion cannot be separated from the social, cultural and economic issues surrounding it. The Reformation is therefore not a purely religious movement, but also one with broader connections to the issues faced by the society of the day.

The world at the time of the Reformation was in a state of flux, not only in terms of religion, but also in terms of social and cultural issues. Changes occurred not only in terms of the Church, but also in terms of the broader society in which the Church functioned. Injuries from the rampant wars of the time left millions unable to feed their families, begging, and living in abject poverty (374). Armies were composed of volunteers rather than properly trained soldiers, many of whom volunteered only to escape family or difficult local circumstances (373). There were more losses than victories, and fighters were often scarred for life. It is in these circumstances that the Catholic Church was beginning to lose its hold on the collective consciousness of its devotees.

In a broader sense, the Reform movement was also influenced by the fact that kings, to help them win wars and curb inflation, formed alliances with unlikely partners. Hence Catholic kings were willing to partner with Lutherans to reach these goals (375). This influenced the generally religious purist paradigm that was the norm up to that time. Affiliating with religious order other than the Catholic brought home to both kings and subjects the fact that there were other ways, in terms of religion, to regard the world and spirituality. It was not difficult to use this realization as a springboard for increasing the criticism against the almost all-powerful Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church received increasing criticism for both its spiritual doctrine and its material position in the society of the time. In terms of the latter, medieval critics began to criticize the Church for its social power and material wealth. In terms of spirituality, devotees questioned the doctrine of absolute obedience to the Pope in order to attain salvation (376). Other doctrinal issues include salvation through the hierarchy of the church and the sacraments, outside of which no soul could be saved. Furthermore, the concept of the Christian community was understood in spiritual terms to relate to the afterlife, where Christians would face God not alone, but in the community of the saints and other Christians (376).

Criticism against the Church and its doctrine was not fuelled only by the suffering brought about by the war and corrupt rulers. General social issues and evolution also played a role in how religion and its role in human life was seen. The Renaissance for example raised individualism to great importance (376). From this paradigm, devotees began to search for a more personal relationship with the divine. Like-minded individual collected to form a new religious movement, known at the time as the devotio moderna, or "modern devotion." In this way, both spiritual and social movements and philosophies set the stage for the success of the Reformation.

From this stage, further social movements and thoughts began to inflame the Reformation process. Desiderius Erasmus, for example, brought home to Christians the ideals of humanism, and how this, along with language studies, could be applied to New Testament doctrine in order to create a new, more devout form of Christianity (376). Martin Luther was the first great proponent of the Reformation. It is however interesting to note that, while his ideologies were firmly rooted in pure spirituality, those of the royalty and others in power who supported the Reformation, were not. The above-mentioned issue of inflation for example drove Princes to support the reformers who called for German money to no longer be sent to Rome. Furthermore, the same Princes benefited from confiscated items of wealth from the Catholic Church (380). This allowed the Reform to take firm root once Charles V was able to turn his attention back to Germany. This occurred to such an extent that it became impossible to extricate Lutheranism (381). Charles V needed to accommodate the Lutherans in his army, which brought a rift in the Church.

As Luther was working towards increasing reform in Germany, Swiss reformers also began to be successful in challenging old ideas (381). Protestantism began to rise in this country, with its concomitant civil wars. Religion in this way mixed with politics in order to become nearly inseparable. Once again, the paradigm was not simply religious, but also a political one of attempting to maintain religious, political and social power. The religious needs of the population are therefore used in order to gain or maintain power. This paradigm was strongly opposed by some reformers, who attempted to conduct extreme reforms in a way that would be untainted by politics or plays for power (382).

These reformers were seen as a threat not only by the Catholic Church, but their extremes in ideology was also seen as a threat by Lutherans and the Swiss reformers. This new group was referred to as the "Anabaptists," for their belief that baptism should occur only in adulthood. In its attempt to keep the reform movement pure, these reformers can be seen as attempting to operate from a purely religious paradigm. It should however be kept in mind that they also operate in response to an observed social and political need; to separate religion, its ideology and its devotees from politics, war and power. It was however impossible for all the Anabaptists to separate themselves from the growing need they saw around them, and many entered revolutionary wars, fighting for victory over those in power. Both protestants and Catholics, seeing the Anabaptists as a threat not only to the then established forms religion, but also to society in general, persecuted the Anabaptists.

Once the violence of the Reformation reached England, rulers began to see it as their duty not to gain materially from the prevalent religious uncertainty, but rather to take responsibility for maintaining peace in their country. From this basis, Queen Elizabeth I (385) acted from her observation of social rather than religious need. Feeling responsible for keeping the peace, she attempted to establish a uniform Christianity, in which all Christians of whatever specific theology could worship together in a single location. So the Church of England was established.

It is interesting to note that the Catholic Church responded by a reform attempt of its own. Once again, this is both politically and religiously inspired. Many Catholic reformers, like the protestants, were also influenced by the ideology of Christian humanism (386). Reform during the time before Luther began his attempts were however difficult to implement, as it necessarily involved political leadership as well. At the time, such leadership was occupied with numerous ongoing wars and could not be counted upon to help reform the Catholic Church.

The Catholic reformation attempt was also inspired by a need to regain the dwindling number of devotees. As such, the movement was both politically and religiously inspired. As a spiritual institution, the Catholic Church was concerned with declaring what it saw as the truth. Catholic reformers subscribed to this paradigm, and attempted to find where the truth has become lost within politics.