In this essay I will examine the fundamental role Martin Luther played in the protestant reformation. Primarily, I will analyse the role Martin Luther played in this movement and how his protest over the sale of indulgences resulted in a significant change in the history of Christianity. In addition, I will focus on the expansion of Protestantism and Protestant denominations across Europe during the 16th century.
At the beginning of the 16th century, potent figures in the Western Church were crying out for a reformation. Churchmen criticised the administration and called for …show more content…
This papal intended to attack Luther and his views. The papal was received with widespread disdain and the document was burned publicly. However, after he was declared a heretic and the Diet of Worms, Luther was determined to continue spreading his views. With the protection of Prince Frederick III, Luther translated the New Testament into the vernacular thereby allowing Germans to read scripture. In addition, it prompted people to further question the teachings of the Church as opposed to what was wrote in scripture. By 1522, Luther’s writings had sparked a wave of revolt and reform among his own Augustine order and across towns and village in Germany. Remarkably, civil unrest increased and became a prominent part of society. The reform movement which was ignited by Martin Luther became the Protestant Reformation. The Diet of Speyer concluded that every province had the right to rule, live and believe in whatever they wanted to. This was another factor which influenced the spread of Protestantism. The Diet of Speyer allowed Princes to advance Protestantism in their own provinces under the privileges of independent action. Charles V opposed the results of the Diet of Speyer but granted religious tolerance to Protestants.
In addition, the work of Luther had inspired many to work for reforms. Notably, by this time the Reformation had spread beyond Germany where discontent for the Catholic Church had raised a protest of reform. In Zurich, the leading citizens were influenced by the reforming doctrines. Zwingli became a catalyst for change in Switzerland Zwingli claimed that his reform was independent from Luther’s and that he began to compose reforming doctrines before Luther . Zwingli was interested in the methodologies and teachings of