Reformation | Objectives and Causes
Reformation | Objectives and Causes
The term ‘Reformation’ refers to a religious movement that arose in most European countries in the sixteenth century against the abuses and corruption of the Catholic Churches and especially against the Pope of Rome. The Reformation is often termed as the Protestant Movement because it arose as a protest against the corrupted Papal system of the church organization. The main objectives of the Reformation ( The Protestant Movement) were-
- To restore Christianity to the original religion of Christ and the Holy Bible.
- To limit the power of the Pope to religious matters only.
- To free the European monarchs from the clutches of the Pope.
- To present The Bible to the reach of everybody.
The causes of the Reformation (The Protestant Movement) were as below:
- The Pope of Rome exercised supreme authority over the Christian countries. Later on, the Pope began to interfere with the political affairs of the European countries. He enjoyed the power termed as Interdict and Excommunicate. By Interdict, he could close all the churches in any Christian country. By Excommunication he could declare any monarch (king) as no longer Christian and thus he could deprive him of the right to govern. As a result, the European monarchs showed their displeasure towards the Pope.
- The Pope had the right to levy taxes on the Christian countries and thus he earned huge money as taxes which increased comforts and luxury that led the Pope and the Church authorities to corruption and vices.
- In the sixteenth century, the Pope began to sell Indulgence Papers granting pardons to sinners. And by this means, he earned huge money and consequently sank under profligacy.
- The English King, especially Henry VIII revolted openly against the waywardness of the Pope that encouraged the Protestants.
- The Renaissance had made people skeptical in their outlook and hence the ecclesiastical system which stood on blind faith and prejudice faced opposition from all round. In addition to this, the Renaissance encouraged free thought for which people began to question as (a) By what right the Pope can grant pardon to sinners? (b) Why does he interfere with the political affairs of the states? (c) Where does the Pope spend the huge amount of money earned by levying taxes? All these questions raised a revolt against the Church Authority.
The leaders of the Reformation were Martin Luther in Germany, Calvin in France and John Wycliffe in England. Through some ups and downs, the Protestant Movement eventually humiliated the absolute superiority of the Pope and paved the way for liberal Christianity.
Like Renaissance, the Reformation also influenced the literary world of England. The Bible was translated into English and many religious books were written. 0 0 0.
Reformation | Objectives and Causes
N. B. The article ‘Reformation | Objectives and Causes’ originally belongs to the book entitled ‘ The Laws of Literature‘ by Menonim Menonimus.
Reformation | Objectives and Causes
Books on Literary Criticism by M. Menonimus:
- World Short Story Criticism
- World Poetry Criticism
- World Drama Criticism
- World Novel Criticism
- World Essay Criticism
- Indian English Poetry Criticism
- Indian English Poets and Poetry Chief Features
- Emily Dickinson’s Poetry-A Thematic Study
- Walt Whitman’s Poetry-A Thematic Study
- Critical Essays on English Poetry
- Tawfiq al-Hakim’s Novel: Return of the Spirit-An Analytical Study
- Tawfiq al-Hakim’s Novel: ‘Yawmiyyat Naib Fil Arayaf’-An Analytical Study
- Analytical Studies of Some Arabic Short Stories
- A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Pre-Islamic Period (500 AD-622 AD)
- A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Early Islamic Period (622 AD-661 AD) …
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