Protestant Reformation – Martin Luther
 In the early 1500s, Western Europeans grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Christian Church
because of various reasons that would ultimately lead to secularization. They are as followed:
o
The Pope was too occupied with matters concerning the world and disregarded the
members of the Church.
o
Religious leaders were acting with excessive superiority.
o
Church officials were living lavishly.
o
Priests and bishops passed on their titles to illegitimate candidates.
o
The Church’s rituals were deemed unnecessary because salvation was dependant on
faith.
 Luther was bothered by the corrupt and cynical life of religious leaders.
 His was especially concerned with the selling of indulgences from church officials.
 He was upset that people bought the idea that they could buy their way into heaven without
paying the consequences for their sins.
 The reformation of the Catholic Church mainly began when Martin Luther criticized the
authority of the Catholic Church.
 It came to a major extent when in 1517; he created a list of 95 complaints against the Catholic
Church. He nailed them to the door of a church in Wittenberg.
 These complaints were basically his accusations against the Roman Catholic Church
 Some of these grievances/beliefs are as followed:
o
People were naturally sinful and that they were to seek salvation by believing in God;
making small pilgrimages to Holy places and by doing good deeds.
o
All believers should be allowed to read the Bible, and not just priests.
o
Priests were not delightful/divine beings
o
Priests did not have the power to turn bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ;
during Holy Communion.
o
People could not pay off their sins by giving money to the Church; only God could take
away sin and not the Church.
By: Natalie Gyampem, Joseph Manalo, Andre Singh, Kim Pham