Martin Luther and John Calvin: Architects of Europe’s Religious Upheaval

Christian Humanism and the Quest for Reform: Erasmus, Luther, and the Challenge to Papal Authority

Christian Humanism was a movement in Northern Europe where theologists thought back to ancient Christian texts in order to fix society at that time. The “major goal was the reform of Christianity” (368). Humanists believed that all holy texts were to be translated so that even the uneducated could understand them. Famous humanists such as Desiderius Erasmus and Thomas More felt that people should be allowed to have a better understanding of religion without the influence of corrupt leaders.

Erasmus “emphasized the inner piety and de-emphasized the external forms of religion” (368). Martin Luther’s 95 Theses are similar to the Praise of Folly in that he criticizes the clergy and the wrongful practices such as sacraments and relics. Luther expanded on Erasmus’s ideas on inner guidance and whether salvation is given to someone by God. The papal Church began to loosen up and fall apart. The clergy began to take on non-religious tasks such as finances and increased revenues.

Some church officials began to take over more than one office and hired someone else to take over in their place. These people were sometimes inadequate and infuriated followers. Finances began to cause a drift between the monarchs and the Papacy (363). Monarchs felt threatened by the Church’s overwhelming rule of the land, so disputes began to break out. People also began to search for a way to salvation and tranquillity during this time. They wanted someone to lead them in the right direction toward religious peacefulness. Scholars such as Erasmus began to poke fun at the Papacy for ruling the Church so hypocritically. His book “Praise of Folly” influenced Martin Luther, who saw the need to reform the Church and its priorities. Martin Luther felt that no matter how much he confessed and tried to gain forgiveness for his sins, he wouldn’t be able to be justified. He pondered whether salvation was earned or given because he noticed that people “weak and powerless” (371) could never do enough compared to God.

Martin Luther and John Calvin Believed: The Rise of Protestant Ideologies and the Challenge to Established Doctrines

He came to the conclusion that people are saved by their belief in faith instead of through their good deeds. This clashed with the ideas of Catholicism because they believed that it was good works and faith was used to be justified, while Luther believed that it was only through faith. Martin Luther used his connections with German and Scandinavian kingdoms to spread the ideas of Lutheranism. For Germany’s support, he aided them during the German Peasants War. In return, they had enough influence and resources he needed to expand his ideas. This gave Lutheranism more exposure to people who were loyal and who agreed with the ideas. Christian II of Scandinavia ruled three kingdoms. He was seized by Gustavus Vasa, someone from the Swedish Empire (375). When he was crowned king of Sweden, he helped expand Lutheranism by creating a Swedish Lutheran National Church. When Christian II lost his crown again to Frederick I, he surrendered Denmark to him. Frederick was a big supporter of Lutheranism and supported the ideas. Zwinglianism and Lutheranism were both supported by the state and were not adopted by the clergy but instead completely rejected.

They trusted the state to supervise and control the Church. Both challenged the components to receive justification in Catholicism. Anabaptists believed that there should be a separation between Church and state and in the idea of adult baptism (381). They were also not accepted by Catholics and protestants. All three ideologies were formed by one person and their beliefs. Also, all three differed from the original teachings of Christianity. The English Reformation shifted towards political powers rather than spiritual ones. The Papal authorities taxed the people and were unjust. During the reign of Elizabeth in England, parliament sought out the Act of Supremacy to overrule the Church’s authority and place the queen as the ruler of all things political as well as spiritual (383). Her act was mostly protestant, but she didn’t go to extremes because she didn’t want to upset her rulers. Unlike other countries, Elizabeth managed to address both religious parties and avoid conflict within her reign. Both Luther and Calvin shared similar ideas on the Catholic religion. However, some points were not the same between the two ideologies. Luther was more focused on setting an example of a good Christian and pointing out the flaws in the existing Catholic Church. However, Calvin focused on the inner guidance of God and predestination.

Calvin, Luther, and the Broader Impacts: From Familial Dynamics to the Global Spread of Catholicism

Calvin and Luther agreed against the Church that one could not buy their way to heaven with indulgences. Yet Calvin believed that performing the holy sacraments and committing good deeds would aid you in having a better chance to go to heaven. He stressed that “there could be no absolute certainty of salvation” (385). Luther strongly agreed in that sense, and it was one of the main points they shared. Even though both ideas were similar, Calvinism became the major form of Protestantism because of missionaries. Many people gathered in Geneva to study Calvin’s ideas, and they went back to their hometowns to spread the religion and what they learned from the missionaries. Family living was not changed to a big extent. Men were still the “rulers,” and women were just housewives and mothers. Their only job was to “pleaser her husband.” (387). Women were expected to obey their husbands and take care of personal matters only. Their role in politics was close to nothing. However, they were expected to participate in religious practices in the Church. Girls received slight education, but only for the purpose of reading the bible and having proper manners (387).

Since money was saved from not buying indulgences, men spent it on education and things to gain profit. The school was also split into three sections based on skill level and age. Communities began to perform religious activities on Sundays together and were encouraged to pray as families during the week. The contributions made by these groups heavily affected the way the Christian religion would be set for the next 400 years or so. The Jesuits contributed education and especially to young people, in order to “combat” Protestantism. They also carried catholic Christianity throughout the East and spread it around Asian, Indian, and Japanese societies. Catholicism was being spread wider than the European states. Pope Paul III still used Renaissance papal traditions by appointing his nephews as cardinals, having involvement in politics, and other non-religious related things. Although, he saw the need for reform and called for a reform commission to study the commission of the Church (392).

Reformation and Counter-Movements: Shifts in Power, Faith, and European Societal Structures

A colloquy was held to make a final attempt to settle the religious conflicts peacefully-not completely successful. The Council of Trent established a set framework for all Christian teachings and requirements that were agreed on by the Papacy, cardinals, trends, and other religious authorities. “Counter-Reformation” applies to how people were going against protestant beliefs and shifting back to the original, yet reformed, ways of Catholicism. “Catholic Reformation” applies to the new and improved teachings created by Catholic society. Both the Reformation and the Catholic Reformation were mainly based on religious and political policies. The rulers and educators had more involvement than the lower population. Important figures such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Queen Elizabeth, etc., were some of the main powers in the act of Reformation. The biggest changes were to the policies of the Church and the political power assigned to it (400). The middle and lower-class populations had no role in sculpting the Reformation except to be loyal followers to whoever was in charge. The main outcomes included creating the rightful framework for the Roman Catholic religion, outlawing popes’ abuse of political power, separating Church and state, and the ways in which religion was interpreted. People began to have trust in faith and their kingdoms to protect them. Catholic Churches also regained the power that was lost over the past couple of centuries. Overall, the Reformation was led by significant rulers and theologists and greatly affected Europe’s views on religion and politics for the centuries to come.  

References

1. Rummel, E. (1995). The humanist-scholastic debate in the Renaissance and Reformation. Harvard University Press.
2. Erasmus, D. (1509). Praise of Folly.
3. Oberman, H. (2016). Luther: Man between God and the Devil. Yale University Press
4. MacCulloch, D. (2005). The Reformation: A History. Viking.
5. Pelikan, J. (1984). Reformation of Church and Dogma (1300-1700). University of Chicago Press.
6. McGrath, A. E. (1990). A life of John Calvin: A study in the shaping of Western culture. Blackwell.
7. Calvin, J. (1559). Institutes of the Christian Religion.
8. Bethencourt, F. (1997). The Inquisition: A Global History 1478–1834. Cambridge University Press.
9. Wiesner-Hanks, M. E. (2017). Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789. Cambridge University Press.
10. Dixon, C. S. (2002). The Reformation in Germany. Blackwell Publishers.

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