The Christian church is still divided today because of the effect of the reformation period but still works to build unity. The reformation period encouraged many people to interpret the likes of lutheranism and Calvinism in their own way, which is why there are now over 30,000 Christian denominations since the reformation with each of them having their own set of teachings,beliefs and practices. Since the reformation period the church has also acknowledged its role in government and identified that the church …show more content…
The council was called on by pope John xxIII in 1962 and was closed by Paul VI in 1965. It was brought about after the council of Trent to deal with church practices in the more recent day.Thousands of bishops came together from all over the world and met for,4 sessions at St.Peter's basilica in Rome. The second Vatican council was a key example of the church still needing to reform even hundreds of years after the reformation period.Prior to the second Vatican council the church was still very different,for example;The mass was still seen in Latin,God was seen as an omnipotent,the church focused on hell and damnation,lay people were not involved in the mass and unless you were catholic you didn't go to heaven.The council was a renewal of the church tradition and ensured that it engaged all forces of the modern world which was the result of 16 documents brought about from the council,changing the Catholic church's practices and beliefs. The results being that God is seen as an omnipotent and not far away but present with us ,the development of ecumenism which was churches working together, and the importance of laity was also highlighted which allowed ordinary churchgoers to be more involved in the church. The second Vatican council was a catalyst for change for the Catholic Church that help lead to what we know it as