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Introduction and Origin of Reformation

History of Modern Europe (University of Delhi)

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INTRODUCTION AND ORIGIN OF REFORMATION

The Reformation implies the schism or breaks within the Roman Catholic Church that
functioned under the Pope in Europe for centuries and the creation of a separate
Protestant Christianity. The European history from the world of humanism to the
counter-reformation was notable for its dramatic beginnings, the huge struggle for the
hearts and minds of people and for the ongoing nature of its most striking features.
This breakup of the unity of Christendom was only one part of the Reformation. It led
to the creation of several radical and moderate folds within Christianity such as
Lutherans, Calvinists, Puritans, Anabaptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians. There were
also efforts of some Catholics to reform their Church through counter-reformation.
Some Catholics like Baronius and Bossuet were very much concerned to show that the
first six centuries of Christianity belonged to the old church rather than the new
churches. So, the popularity of Reform movements cannot be properly understood
purely in a religious light. Rather these have to be placed in their historical, political,
social and economic context. The Reformation was far more than a movement
directed against the abuses in the Roman Catholic Church. It was the culmination of a
complex situation with roots deeply buried in the medieval past. Lewis W. Spitz
emphasized that the Age of Protestant reformation had an enduring impact upon later
European, American and World History. The European Reformation of the 16 th
century was a complex and heterogeneous movement, with direct or indirect
ramifications on the political and economic life of Europe.

ORIGIN
The Catholic Church in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries faced institutional
problems because of the failure of the Papal authority to provide spiritual leadership.
Contemporary writings unquestionably indicate a state of increasing ecclesiastical
corruption and inefficiency. The leaders of the Church were not able to satisfy the
longings and issues raised in the society as well in the minds of people. The economic
changes and feudal crisis had led to the Papal court to be indulged in financial and
political matters. The financial burden of growing expenses of the Church fell on the
ordinary people. The financial burden of the Catholic Church was one of the
important factors leading to the mounting criticism of Papal authority. The Roman
Catholic Church charged its members for various services that included marriages,
baptisms, confessions and burials this created bitterness and hostility against the
church and provided the immediate background to the Reformation. It required huge
funds to carry out the Crusades against the Turks and the Italian war. Also, funds
were needed for lavish buildings and basilicas built during the Renaissance, to
maintain a vast bureaucracy, army and to pay for the luxurious lifestyle of the church
officials. The method of extracting revenue was intensified. The clergy collected tithe
(about a tenth o f the income) from the population. The latter also had to pay to the
church for wedding ceremonies, baptism of the children, dispensation for
un-canonical marriages and for many other services. The church officials tried to
accumulate as many church offices as possible to enhance their revenue. This

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practice of pluralism in fact led to the problem of absenteeism. The economic

problems of the church led to an increasing separation between the upper and the
lower clergies. Naturally, the standard of church administration started falling.
Demand for reforms also emanated from an increasing number of women who
devoted their lives to God.
According to Alister E. McGrath, almost a century before the Reformation, a crisis of
authority was surfacing in the Christian world. To enforce orthodoxy and check that
were emerging among the people radical views, Papal authority needed greater
centralization. The central church found it difficult to define Christian orthodoxy.
The Council of Constance (1414-17) selected Martin V as its candidate for the post of
Pope and advised him to bring about religious reforms. Two rival theories of
authority developed - those who believed that the real authority to decide doctrinal
disputes resided in a general council (called the conciliarist position) and those who
held that this authority resided in the person of the Pope (the curialist position).
Second, the demand for church reforms aggravated this crisis of authority. The
Counciliar Movement through the councils of Pisa (1409), Constance (1414-17) and
Basle (1431-9) made attempts to persuade the papacy to delegate authority. It was an
attempt to bring changes within the church through the efforts of individuals,
monastic orders and general councils. Individual attempts for reforms.
Also, the Reformation in the sixteenth century was possible because of the
technological innovation such as the printing press. Though it was not wholly
dependant on the printing press, the Reformation did contribute as an agent of
change in the intellectual climate. .The printed works could easily spread the ideas of
religious reformers. The third significant factor which contributed to the cause of the
Reformation, was the rise of Renaissance humanism which created an intellectual
climate. Although humanism as a movement was not directly related to religion or
church organization, it provided tools of criticism and raised several issues that at
times were related to the religion preached and practised in those days. It can be said
that the challenge to papal supremacy that culminated with the Protestant
Reformation would have been unthinkable without the contribution of Renaissance
humanism. In Germany also, humanism was an important force that directly
challenged scholasticism.
Scholars have variously explained the religious upheavals of the Reformation that
destroyed the outward framework of the society under a single church. As Lawrence
Stone points out, there are two ways of looking at this crisis. The first view lays stress
on the religious emotions and faith. The second view lays great stress on the
outstanding personalities and their use of power and the might of the state to impose
their ideas on the people. Marx and Engels suggest that the Reformation was related
to the rise of the bourgeoisie. The Reformation is seen as ‘revolutionary’ because it
represented the challenge of a new class to feudal order. Engels explains that the
Reformation was possible because of Germany’s economic development and its
growing share in the international trade. The beginning of the Reformation and the
end of the Peasant War formed the early Phase o f the bourgeois revolution in
Germany. The Peasant War is seen as an expression of a socio-economic conflict of
which the Reformation was an ideological expression. The sociological explanation of

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the Reformation has gained ground in recent years. According to this view, the
clergies were discredited for their failure to discharge spiritual and administrative
functions and the new educated elite from the laity showed its eagerness to take over
these functions. This is discernible at all stages of the Reformation. The Reformation
had a special appeal to certain groups who were likely to gain from this movement -
for the princes it was an ideal instrument for state building; for the oligarchs the
teachings of Zwingli and Calvin helped them establish their control over city
population; and the growing middle class got a chance to free itself from the shackles
of old religious practices, while the lower classes believed that their tax burden would
be relieved with the destruction of Papal control.

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