The Reformation

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Reformation, as a great religious revolution in the Christian church, ended the ecclesiastical supremacy of the Pope in Western Christendom and resulted in the establishment of the Protestant churches. Of the social changes taking place during the 16th century, the author believes, that the reformation of the Catholic Church was without a doubt the most important because it showed people that they had freedom of religion. The paper describes Martin Luther and Henry VIII of England as the leaders in this demonstration of religious change, which continues today.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Martin Luther
The Reformation
Humanism and Learning
Religion and Leadership
Social Changes: The Catholic Church
Changing History

From the Paper:

"Religion continues to change as well, as there have now been openly homosexual individuals accepted not only into churches but even into the ministry in some areas. Women stand at pulpits in many churches across the world while other churches do not even allow women to speak out or perform any of the scriptural readings that many churches have at their services. It is clear that, although individuals now have a choice other than Catholicism, there are often so many choices between various churches and denominations that it is difficult to determine which one is right in the sense of biblical ideals."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Becker, Carl Lotus. Beginnings of the American People. (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1915).
• De Molen, Richard, L. ed., Leaders of the Reformation (Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press, 1984)
• King, John N. English Reformation Literature. The Tudor Origins of the Protestant Tradition (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982)
• Luther, Martin. Ninety-Five Theses (Internet: www.bartleby.com, 1517)
• Ozment, Steven E. The Age of Reform 1250-1550. An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980)

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