The Catholic Church has a long history of reform efforts.

In the 10th and 11th centuries, Benedictine

monks sought to return to the original Benedictine rule, which included the introduction of celibacy.
Later, ecclesiastical reform took on a broader meaning, focusing on the need for the Church to renew
itself. This was due to Church leaders leading too secular a life, and Popes governing the Papal States
like secular princes. During the 14th and 15th centuries, proposals to limit papal power were made,
such as the 'synodal ideal' which argued that the Church hierarchy should be changed so that the
convened synod, rather than the pope, would decide on major issues. However, these proposals
were rejected by the popes of the time. The Renaissance in Italy saw the rise of humanism, which
was later misinterpreted as man-centredness. However, humanists were highly learned scholars of
the humanities who read ancient Greek and Latin, and incorporated their ideas into religious
questions. One such figure, Erasmus of Rotterdam, proposed an intimate religiosity where
ceremonies and rituals were relegated to the background and man could come close to God without
external mediators. In the 15th century, Pope Leo X embarked on a large-scale enterprise and
intended to cover part of the costs by selling indulgences. This sparked a great deal of controversy
and led to abuses in German territories, with Martin Luther being one of the most outspoken critics.
On the last day of October 1517, in response to the proliferation of indulgences, Luther compiled a
95-point discussion paper and sent it to his superiors, which is considered the beginning of the
Reformation. Luther rejected papal authority, attacked certain sacraments, and declared Catholic
ceremonies such as processions and pilgrimages superfluous. This sparked a great debate and Luther
was eventually condemned by the Pope and the Emperor Charles V. He taught that sin could be
forgiven by God alone, that man could be saved by faith alone, and that the Bible alone could be the
guide for believers. In England, the question of religion also came to the fore at the same time. King
Henry VIII of England wanted a divorce, as his first wife had not borne him any children, and the Pope
refused to grant it. This led to Henry VIII deciding to legislate to separate the Church of England from
Rome (1534). This decision gave the king the authority to decide on the organisation and structure of
the Church of England as head of the country's church, and to regulate its religious observances. In
the 1520s, the Reformation also took hold in Switzerland, led by John Calvin, a Frenchman. Central to
Calvin's teaching was the introduction of the principle of predestination, which stressed the
importance of faith in God, the pursuit of a righteous, puritanical life, and the flourishing of both
material and spiritual wellbeing. The Reformed religion spread rapidly in many parts of Europe, and
the Anglican religion retained the Catholic appearance, but abolished the cult of the saints and
celibacy, and introduced a liturgy in the mother tongue. In Hungary, the Reformation was adopted by
German-speaking citizens of the free royal towns and the Saxon cities, and spread rapidly with the
help of noblemen who supported the new faith. This significantly transformed the culture of the
period, with the cultivation of the mother tongue, the establishment of printing presses, the
distribution of printed books, and the development of a Protestant school network. Gáspár Károli
produced the first complete Bible in Hungarian (Vizsoly Bible, 1590). The Reformation also saw the
emergence of other Protestant denominations such as Anabaptists, who advocated adult baptism,
and anti-Trinitarians who questioned the doctrine of the Trinity. Overall, the Reformation of the 16th
century had a significant impact on the Church and the culture of the time. It led to the spread of the
Protestant faith, the abolition of certain Catholic ceremonies, and a shift in the Church's structure
and organisation. It also saw a significant rise in the number of printed works in the Hungarian
language, with a rise in the proportion of books on non-religious subjects, indicating that basic
literacy was no longer restricted to the clergy.