Scientific Discoveries and the Rise of the Reformation
In the 16th century, numerous significant scientific discoveries were made, often contradicting church dogmas. This led to the persecution of scientists, which in turn caused discontent among many people. The Catholic Church’s persecution of science has become one of the most important reasons for its transformation.
Different Origins
Beginning in Germany, the Reformation soon spread across Europe, forever dividing it into Catholic and Protestant factions. These events reshaped the political balance of power, significantly impacted the rest of history, and laid the prerequisites for religious wars. The Reformation in England was carried out from above, in accordance with the interests of the new nobility and the large bourgeoisie; King Henry VIII initiated it. In Europe, the initiators of the Reformation were the lower classes of society.
Contrasting Goals
In European countries, the Reformation was supposed to limit the Church’s interference in secular life (Ha, 2023). The feudal lords were dissatisfied with the clergy’s interference in their affairs, and the city authorities were dissatisfied with the levies on the maintenance of churches within their jurisdiction. At the same time, in England, the Reformation helped to strengthen the power of the absolute monarchy. The head of the Anglican Church, the king, was appointed personally by the reigning monarch, thereby removing the Pope’s power in England.
Religious Practices and Intermediaries
In Europe, the Reformation aimed to solve the complexity and incomprehensibility of church rites. The Church was far from the people, striving to become an intermediary between people and God (Tröhler, 2021). Most people, on the other hand, welcomed Martin Luther’s idea that intermediaries were not needed in this matter, as it allowed them to draw closer to God.
In England, in contrast to the rest of Europe, the value of the intermediary has increased. The role of the parish priest was elevated, who, along with the squire landowner and the justice of the peace, became the village’s central pillar of governance (Ha, 2023). In addition, the Catholic splendor of rites and services has been largely preserved, and the Reformation has helped strengthen the traditions that were difficult for the commoner to understand.
Outcomes of the Reformation
In fact, the Reformation became an ecclesiastical schism, resulting in the separation of Protestants from the Roman Catholic Church, which, in turn, later split into various directions and currents. In fact, the Reformation in Europe ended the Catholic Church’s unconditional rule in European states (Tröhler, 2021). This social, political, and religious trend has forever altered the face of Europe, and the Protestantism it generated has become one of the three main trends of Christianity worldwide, alongside Catholicism and Orthodoxy. At the same time, the essence of the Reformation was more revolutionary than evolutionary.
Unlike the Reformation in Europe, the Reformation in England contributed to the strengthening, not weakening, of the absolute monarchy and the consolidation of the state on a national basis. The English Reformation was only partially completed: the Church did not achieve the democratic organization that the most radical reformers sought. Therefore, it did not become as revolutionary as the Reformation in Europe. Therefore, the Reformation of the Church in Europe and England had an opposite character, caused by its origins: the discontent of the European people and the personal interests of the English government.
References
Ha, P. (2023). Reorienting English Protestantism. Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, 53(1), 1-23. Web.
Tröhler, T. (2021). The lasting legacy of the European Reformation of the 16th century: Protestant foundations of modern educational reasoning. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 42(2), 258-276. Web.