Introduction
In general, it is widely agreed that inquisition and reformation are the major events that have greatly defined the history of Christianity. Even though the inquisition had started in late 12th century, its peak came during the reformation as the Roman Catholic instituted it to counter reformation by protestants as well as counter-Protestantism. The inquisition has become a powerful office that the Catholic Church had set to root out and punish heretics throughout Europe and later in the European colonies in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. The inquisition greatly affected the reputation of the Church, owing to its infamous severity that included massive cases of tortures and deaths as the church furiously responded to reformation.
On its part, the reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation, remains a major epoch in the history of the Church and continental Europe as well. In the Ninety-Five Theses Martin Luther protested the Church and Papal dictatorship, as well as the inquisition. Therefore, when the Catholic Church in Spain, Portugal, and Rome adopted Inquisition in the 1500s, the major aim was to cope with Protestantism, but this further escalated the reformation movement in the succeeding three centuries. Thus, the inquisition had a direct influence on reformation, while its use was in turn influenced by reformation movements both in Europe and its colonies.
Significance of the Proposed Research
The influence that the inquisition had on reformation and vice versa remains an area that many students of theology and the history of religion find difficult to understand. Specifically, the inquisition itself is old, having been initiated in the 11th century, some 400 years before the start of reformation and Protestantism. The inquisition was one of the vices that Martin Luther mentioned in his Ninety-Five Theses and indeed influenced the start of reformation in the 1500s. However, the institutionalization of the inquisition to counter Protestantism in the century increased the momentum of the proponents of Christian reformation. Students of theology and the history of religion ought to develop an understanding of the influence that the inquisition had on reformation before, during, and after the foundation of Protestantism and reformation.
Potential Areas of Inquiry
In conducting the research, the paper will examine the history of the Catholic Church’s use of inquisition in response to Protestantism and reformation and how it influenced these events from the 1500s onwards. In this case, the paper will examine the inquisition in France, Spain, and Portugal, the Roman Inquisition, their spread beyond Europe, and them influencing the spread of reformation and Protestantism movements across Europe and beyond. The Catholic Church used the institution of Inquisition both to root out heretics and later to compel Protestantism and reformation. A major point of interest in the research is that it ironically helped to boost the morale of the reformists and protestants, which eventually shaped Christianity as a religion as it is known today.
Prospectus
Research Problem
Both inquisition and reformation played a significant role in shaping Christianity as a religion as it is known in modern times. Although the extant literature provides evidence of this relationship and influence between the two epochs in Christianity history, students of theology and history of religion find it difficult to explain how inquisition influenced reformation. Specifically, studying the relationship is difficult because the inquisition was started several centuries before 1500 when the Catholic church was the dominant religion in Europe, save for a few Jewish and Muslim communities. Moreover, the institutionalization and application of the inquisition process to suppress reformation and Protestantism need to be understood as a newer and separate event in Early Modern Europe onwards.
Conceptual Issues
The concept behind the current study is to examine the cause of the effects of epochs in the history of Christianity as a religion. The history of Christianity in Europe was characterized by several events that shaped the religion as it is known today. However, inquisition and reformation greatly shaped religion more than any other event in its history. A major consequence of the inquisition is the rise of reformation and Protestantism, which divided the Church into two factions and escalated contempt between the followers in the succeeding centuries.
Research Questions
Although the proposed study is not empirical research, it seeks to address some questions that students of theology and history of religion are likely to find difficult to answer when studying what shaped Christianity. The primary aim is to answer the question, ‘how did inquisition influence reformation in the history of Christianity?’ While it is logical to imply that the inquisition influenced reformation purely negatively, other possible answers are possible.
General Research Plan and Anticipated Benefits
Conducting this research will involve reading a wide range of resources in both history and theology. This study is qualitative research that will use the already existing resources through analysis and review of the existing literature. The idea is to address the above questions and develop a comprehensive understanding of the influence that the inquisition had on reformation. It is expected to help students of theology and religious studies understand the importance of the two epochs and how they shaped Christianity as it is understood today.
Annotated Bibliography
Al Kalak, Matteo. The heresy of the brothers, a heterodox community in sixteenth-century Italy. Vol. 28. Brepols, 2022.
This study uses the example of the heretic communities that arose in the Italian city of Modena in the 16th century. Known as the Community of Brothers, the heretic community developed at the start of the 16th century, inspiring protests against the authority of the Church. Most of the leaders were sympathetic to Martin Luther and his radical arguments against the Church and the authorities of the pope. Members of the community became increasingly against the actions of the Church and the pope, especially the process of Inquisition and the sentences that heretics received upon inquiry. Consequently, it is evident that inquisition was one of the factors that contributed to the rise of communities that aligned with the reformists in Italy where the pope had a tradition of holding political powers.
Cavallini, I. “A Counter-Reformation Reaction to Slovenian and Croatian Protestantism: The Symbol of St. Athanasius in a Creed of 1624.” (2018): 661-684.
Initially written in Italian, the article examines the counter-reformation reaction and Protestantism that arose in Croatia and Slovenia in the 16th century. Cavallini examines a number of recent studies to address the question of whether the Catholic Church in Slovenia and Croatia faced a rebellion from reformists after Martin Luther’s theses were published in the early 1500s. According to the author, recent studies found historical evidence showing that a number of Catholic monks started questioning the authority of the Church and the pope after reading Martin Luther’s work. Indeed, Trubar Stjepan Kozul and Anton Dalmatin obtained financial support from Baron Hans Ungnad and, together with their followers, translated Martin Luther’s work into local languages, including Croatian, Latin, Cyrillic, Slovenian, Italian, and German.
Consequently, many believers were able to read in their local languages, which inspired reformation reactions in the region. In reaction, Inquisitors were authorized by the church to investigate and counter the rising reformation movement. However, the inquisition was negatively received and more people, after reading the translated work, questioned the authority of the Church, including the use of inquisition. The article partly suggests that inquisition was one of the practices used by the Catholic church that greatly influenced the growth of the reformation.
Becker, Sascha O., Francisco J. Pino, and Jordi Vidal-Robert. “Freedom of the press? Catholic censorship during the counter-reformation.” (2021).
The authors used newly digitized data from universe books that the Catholic Church and the papacy had censored during the counter-reformation era starting in the 1500s. From the materials found, the church had censored various books and texts written during and before the 16th century, including many in sciences, arts, religion, and other fields. From the books, the authors found that despite censorship by the church, many people were able to access the writings, which increased the degree of rebellion against the church. In its approach to counter the new movement, the church used inquisition to determine individuals who had accessed, read, and digested knowledge from such materials. However, instead of rooting out these individuals, the inquisition only inspired more people to question the authority of the church. Therefore, inquisition indirectly motivated calls for reformation in the early 16th century.
Dalton, Jessica M. Between Popes, Inquisitors and Princes: How the First Jesuits Negotiated Religious Crisis in Early Modern Italy. Leiden, Boston, MA: BRILL, 2020.
Dalton examines the contributions that the Jesuits made to root out heretics in early modern Italy. The author explores the impact of the relationships between the Jesuits, the office of the pope, the Roman inquisitors, and secular princes. The Jesuits were supported by some popes but their actions and authority would often be limited by others. Specifically, the Jesuits were sometimes targeted and criticized by inquisitors, given that they would use their privileges grated by some popes to shield some individuals accused of heresy from the inquisition. In the process, the Jesuits would use their positions and good relationships with the pope to allow reformists to exist and protect them from the inquisition. Reformation continued to thrive during the period despite the institution of inquisition by the church to root out reformists and protestants in Italy.
Brady, Thomas, and Tracy, James D. Handbook of European History 1400-1600: Late Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation: Volume I: Structures and Assertions. Boston, MA: BRILL.
The authors revisit and examine the history of Christianity between 1400 and 1600 in Europe, focusing on the political, cultural, and social situations in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and other parts of the continent. As the authors indicate, the church and the authority of the pope were greatly threatened by the rise of reformism followed by Protestantism. In response, they used inquisition to root out those seen as having consumed Luther’s new teachings, with the church making the public believe that the aim was to root out heresy from the population. However, despite massive torture, killings, and imprisonment of people believed to be heretics, more and more communities were inspired by Luther’s writings and obtained motivation to fight the inquisitors. In turn, the spirit of reformation continued to grow, suggesting that the inquisition greatly influenced reformation in the 16th century.
Final Paper
Introduction
Extant literature in both history and theology establishes that the major events that shaped Christianity as it is known today are the inquisition and reformation. Occurring roughly alongside each other, both inquisition and reformation affected Christianity, leading to the formation of two major divisions – the Catholic Church and Protestant churches. The inquisition had started in the early 12th century with the aim of rooting out heresy in Europe. Later, it was used as an institution in the papacy to counter-reformation and protests, starting in the early 1500s. Thus, by the time its struggle against reformation began, Inquisition had had a long history.
Reformation quickly proved to be a significant adversary to the Catholic Church. In Early Modern Europe, specifically between 1500 and 1700, the Catholic Church and the papacy were greatly threatened by it. Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, published in 1514, motivated thousands of followers to reconsider their view of the church and papacy. Specifically, Luther’s opposition to the use of practices that were not biblical in the church made many scholars, political leaders, and even religious leaders question the powers of the church and the papacy.
During the beginning of the Reformation, in cities and towns Lutheran convictions predominated, especially in Northern Germany and Franconia. In Swabia and the Alemannic regions, meanwhile, religious changes tended to in the tradition of Zwingli, Bucer, or Calvin. Lutheranism appealed to individuals’ distress of being isolated, while the communalist doctrine of the Reformation complemented the political tradition of Upper Germany, further increasing its popularity.
A powerful office that the Catholic Church had set to root out and punish heretics throughout Europe and later in the European colonies in the Americas, Asia, and Africa, the inquisition greatly affected the reputation of the Catholic Church. The reason for it was its infamous severity that included massive cases of tortures and deaths as the church furiously responded to reformation. On its part, the reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation, remains a major epoch in the history of the Church and continental Europe as well. As mentioned above, in the Ninety-Five Theses published in 1517, Martin Luther protested against the use of force to root out heretics that the Church had adopted using the institution of Inquisition. As the distribution of indulgences for erecting religious buildings was the direct reason for Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, it proves that humanism did not touch upon the main business of Church. It was not until Protestantism challenged the Catholic Church’s nature directly that problematic were dealt with at the Council of Trent (1545–63). Thus, in his work, Luther challenged the Church itself directly.
Therefore, when the Catholic Church in Spain, Portugal, and Rome adopted Inquisition in the 1500s, the major aim was to cope with Protestantism, especially after the death of Martin Luther. The increasing role of the press helped the Reformists expand their influence, challenging the monopoly the Catholic Church had on the faith. To protect itself from Protestantism, the Catholic Church attacked the free press and the freedom of expression. Nonetheless, this further boosted the morale of the Protestant reformists and escalated the reformation movement in the succeeding three centuries. Consequently, it is evident that the inquisition had a direct influence on reformation, as it was the main tool the Catholic Church would utilize in its repressions against Protestantism. It is, however, arguable that the church’s use of inquisition to counter Protestantism from the 16th century onwards was influenced by the growing reformation movements in Europe and European colonies outside the continent.
Discussion
Inquisition and reformation are the major events that have greatly defined the history of Christianity. Even though the inquisition had started as early as the beginning of the 12th century, its peak came during the reformation as the Roman Catholic instituted it for countering reformation by protestants as well counter-Protestantism. Both inquisition and reformation played a significant role in shaping Christianity as a religion as it is known in modern times. Indeed, they have a relationship that involves the influence of each other over several decades, starting in the early 1200s. The reformation started with Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 and led to the rise of Protestantism within the century. In response, the Church used inquisition to root out those seen as having consumed Luther’s new teachings, making the public believe that the aim was to root out heresy from the population.
The church and the authority of the pope were greatly threatened by the rise of reformism followed by Protestantism. It is worth noting that the inquisition, as applied by the Catholic Church across Europe to root out heretics, was an issue that Martin Luther noted as a major vice and a form of dictatorship. Therefore, even though inquisition in Medieval Europe was a vice, it motivated reformists like Martin Luther to speak out against the Church and Papal dictatorship. This directly influenced the rise and spread of reformation and later Protestantism.
However, despite massive torture, killings, and imprisonment of people believed to be heretics, more and more communities were inspired by Luther’s writings and obtained motivation to fight the inquisitors. In turn, the spirit of reformation continued to grow in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, and even Italy, suggesting that the inquisition greatly influenced reformation in the 16th century. Therefore, during early modern Europe, the inquisition was institutionalized by the Pope as a means of countering reformation and Protestantism. However, rather than achieving the objective of eliminating reformation, it boosted the morale of the reformists, leading to a further divide of Christianity into two parts – The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches across the world.
Researchers indicate that in Early Modern Europe, popes were using Inquisition as a means of dealing with heretics. However, it is clear that the heretics were not necessarily guilty of heresy, as the majority were simply seen as a threat to the authority of the popes and the Catholic Church in general. These individuals were mainly those questioning the authority of the popes and the church, as well as the use of practices and processes that were not Biblical. Therefore, the majority were reformists and protestants. However, the inquisition and the role of the Jesuits played a significant role in motivating and increasing the morale of the reformists during the period, especially outside Italy.
In Italy, the rise of heretic communities took place in areas that were traditionally under the direct political and social control of the pope. This study uses the example of the heretic communities that arose in the Italian city of Modena in the 16th century. Known as the Community of Brothers, the heretic community developed at the start of the 16th century, inspiring protests against the authority of the Church. Most of the leaders were sympathetic to Martin Luther and his radical arguments against the Church and the authorities of the pope. Members of the community became increasingly against the actions of the Church and the pope, especially the process of Inquisition and the sentences that heretics received upon inquiry.
In their support for some of the arguments that Luther made in his Ninety-Five Theses, these individuals went even further. They aligned with reformists as they wanted the Church to change some of the practices that were not biblical. Consequently, it is evident that inquisition was one of the factors that contributed to the rise of communities that aligned with the reformists in Italy, where the pope had a tradition of holding political powers.
Recent studies found historical evidence showing that a number of Catholic monks started questioning the authority of the Church and the pope after reading Martin Luther’s work. Indeed, Trubar Stjepan Kozul and Anton Dalmatin obtained financial support from Baron Hans Ungnad and, together with their followers, translated Martin Luther’s work into local languages, including Croatian, Latin, Cyrillic, Slovenian, Italian, and German. Consequently, many believers were able to read in their local languages, which inspired reformation reactions in the region. In reaction, Inquisitors were authorized by the church to investigate and counter the reformation movement that was rising. Indeed, the inquisition was used as an approach not only to compel heretics but to suppress reformists.
Despite this, the number of reformists was increasing every day. After more than 30,000 copies of Luther’s work were published in multiple languages and spread to the public, the rate of increase peaked. The inquisition was being more and more negatively received, and more people, after reading the translated work, questioned the authority of the Church, including the use of inquisition. Therefore, the article partly suggests that inquisition was one of the practices used by the Catholic church that greatly influenced the growth of the reformation. Yet, the inquisition was designed to counter the spread of reformism and Protestantism in Slovenia and Croatia, where the church had remained the absolute religion for centuries.
Yet, another indication that there was a strong relationship between inquisition and reformation in Early Modern Europe can be traced from the consequences of censorship on books and other written materials during the period. The church had censored various books and texts written during and before the 16th century, including many in sciences, arts, religion, and other fields. From the books, the authors found that despite censorship by the church, many people were able to access the writings, which increased the degree of rebellion against the church. In its approach to counter the new movement, the church used inquisition to determine individuals who had accessed, read, and digested knowledge from such materials. However, instead of rooting out these individuals, the inquisition only inspired more people to question the authority of the church. Therefore, inquisition indirectly motivated calls for a reformation in the early 16th century.
The work of the Jesuits and their relationships with other parties such as the pope, the Church leaders, political leaders, and inquisitors played a significant role as a mediating factor in the influence of inquisition in the reformation in Early modern Europe. Various researchers have examined the contributions that the Jesuits made to root out heretics in early modern Italy. For example, Dalton explores the impact of the relationships between the Jesuits, the office of the pope, the Roman inquisitors, and secular princes.
Dalton shows that Jesuits were given faculties to “absolve heresy during the first decade of their ministry”, before the concession of the papal privilege in 1551. In 1541, a year after the establishment of the Jesuit Order, Paul III gave Jesuits this right, which gave them power not only to absolve heretics, but schismatics and others, during a mission to Ireland. As later the Jesuits’ had to closely work with the inquisition, they developed close working relationships with powerful inquisitors, some of whom became popes later. Thus, the relationship between the four parties was complex during the period. The Jesuits were supported by some popes, but their actions and authority would often be limited by others.
The Jesuits were sometimes targeted, accused and criticized by inquisitors. They were suspected to be using use their privileges granted by some popes to shield some individuals accused of heresy from the inquisition. In the process, the Jesuits would use their positions and good relationships with the pope to allow reformists to exist and protect them from the inquisition. In this way, reformation continued to thrive during the period despite the institution of inquisition by the church to root out reformists and protestants in Italy.
Some popes in Early Modern Italy granted the Jesuits the privilege to absolve individuals of heresy and lift ex-communication on the subjects under the seal of confession and away from the Inquisition. The Jesuits enjoyed the right to do it could absolutely secretly and away of sacramental confession. Specifically, the popes who granted such privileges include Julius III, Pius IV, Pius V, Paul IV, Sixtus V, and Gregory XIII. Noteworthy, all these popes were in office in the 1500s, a century that saw the rise of both reformation and Protestantism.
Nevertheless, the papal confidence and favor during the period were generally short-lived. For example, even after granting the privilege to the Jesuits, Pope Paul IV later marginalized them, leaving their situation in serious doubt. Under Pope Paul IV, Inquisition was preferred as a means of rooting out heretics and protestants in Italy and other parts of Europe. Inquisition in this era involved brutal approaches as sentences to heretics. As an example, some heretics, such as a case in Piazza Navona, were boiled in oil. Despite this, Paul IV I best known for being the pope who discontinued the Council of Trent and controlled the Church through the inquisition. He was so unpopular that the inquisition’s headquarters and bureaus were stormed after his death along with the Dominican convent S. Maria sopra Minerva which included some of them. But during the papacy of Pius IV, the Jesuits were granted the privilege to escape the meddling of the Inquisition in dealing with cases of heresy.
However, Pius V, the succeeding pope, directly controlled the cases involving heretics and limited the authority and actions of the Jesuits. The pope and the inquisition only shared their own jurisdiction over heresy to gain help in their struggle against the Reformation. They ultimately did not believe that heretics can have an alternative way to improve their standings with the Church. When the struggle against the Reformation became less tense and the inquisition could persecute heretics in it full force, Pius V weakened the status of the Jesuits as an anti-heretical organization. Thus, the status of their privilege became significantly less prestigious. During the period, the inquisition increased significantly throughout Italy and other parts of Europe.
Conclusion
From this study, it is evident that the inquisition had a major influence on reformation and later Protestantism in early modern Europe. All the examined literature has adequate evidence suggesting that even though the inquisition was designed to suppress opposition against God and the church, it was used for political purposes by the papacy and the Church. It became necessary when they felt threatened by the work of reformists after Martin Luther published his Ninety-Five Theses in 1514. During the century, Luther’s work was reprinted and translated into multiple languages, making it necessary for people to read it in their languages.
As a result, the opposition against the church increased, with many people questioning the traditions of the church and the powers of the pope. In response, the church and papacy realized that their powers and position in the society were under threat, and many followers were likely to either align with the protestants or call for mass reformation. One of the responding methods the church and papacy used was an inquisition, feigning to root our heretics, but the reality is that the aim was to suppress reformation. Nevertheless, as the study finds, the use of inquisition failed to achieve these objectives. It only increased the motivation and morale of the reformists, with more followers opposing the authority of the church to use force and coercion along with inquisition. Consequently, inquisition played a significant role, even though not intended to, in the establishment and progress of reformation.
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