The year was 1517 when Martin Luther criticized and wrote the 95 Theses on the Catholic Church. Martin Luther had begun a religious revolution; this was the start of the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a religious and political movement that caused a cultural disorder and shattered the Catholic Church in Europe. The reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin challenged the papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define a Christian practice. They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power and let the Bible and other works spread across Europe for all to read. Eventually the mass amount of printing of the 95 Theses and soon enough the Reformations were happening all across Europe. The disruption of the church triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed response to the Protestants.
John Calvin had a slightly altered view than Martin Luther called Calvinism, which focuses on pre-destination. Pre-destination is John Calvin’s doctrine that God preordained salvation or damnation for each person before creation; those chosen for salvation were considered the “elect.” This meant that the belief of everything that will happen is already decided by God and cannot be changed. In other words, God has chosen your life and the result of it before your birth including the route of the life you will live; up until death and your afterlife, whether it is heaven or hell. Calvinism did scare many people because of the fact of not knowing what will happen after death. Calvinism had much controversy but it rapidly grew and was finally established in 1541. Nonetheless, John Calvin and his new form of religion joined in the reformations against the Catholic Church.
Before the Catholic Church took “official” action, the Counter- Reformation, in 1545, there was a long period between the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517 and the Council of Trent. When Martin Luther first criticized the church with his 95 Theses the Catholic Church had condemned these actions and told Luther to recant for his actions. The officials of the Catholic Church called Martin Luther an “unruly monk.” Further actions of the Catholic Church were taken, the Pope ordered Martin Luther to obey his “superiors” and to keep him quiet. Martin Luther, received a declaration from the Church to denounce the statements he made and in response, he tore up the document. This led to multiple religious protests among the lower class for the next thirty years. Throughout the following thirty years, the Catholic Church virtually stayed “isolated” from the current matter, but in 1545, they finally had an official reaction to the Protestant Reformation.
In the 1540’s the Catholic Church decided to take drastic action after its failure to respond to the Protestant Reformation for the last thirty years. Pope Paul III called for a council of the Catholic Church in 1545 to meet at Trent. The Council of Trent dealt with leaders in the Catholic Church looking to renew religious faith and devotion of clerical morality and the clarification of the doctrine of the church. During the Council of Trent, one of the religious orders created and set out was to convert and reconvert Catholics who had turned to Protestantism. Simultaneously, the church did not hold back to root out opposition by giving more powers to the Inquisition, which included the power of censorship. In 1557, the Pope created a list of books that were prohibited to Catholics. The Council of Trent also reiterated that salvation depended on faith and good works, not faith alone; they rejected the idea of divorcing and reinstated the sale of indulgences. Reasserting the church’s dominance, the interpretation of the Bible could not be challenged and the Latin version of the Bible was the only allowed version to be used. In addition, the church insisted that bishops should reside in their districts and begin the creation of universities for the training of priests.
Following the Council of Trent, the pope recognized a small band of Catholic fanatics known as Jesuits. The Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order who serve as missionaries and educators all over the world. The Jesuits quickly became servants to the papal and his personal group of missionaries and defenders of his authority. Under the wishes of the Pope, the Jesuits became a key role in the Counter- Reformation in re-establishing the Catholic Church in Europe. They established hundreds of colleges and universities throughout Europe, which helped influence the rise in Catholicism. Once the colleges and universities were established, the Jesuits became the educators for future Catholic leaders. During the beginning of the Counter- Reformation, the Jesuits focused on winning over local elites in order to help convert the masses, the lower class. They also focused on learning local languages to help gain more followers in different areas of the world. The tactics of the Jesuits helped influence former Catholics to return to the authority of the Pope. Influencing former Catholics helped the church regain power during the Counter- Reformation.
In the following years the Catholic Church had stepped up its pressure on Protestantism. Revolts had spread throughout Europe in countries like England, France, Netherlands, Spain and many more. England and Spain were preoccupied with each other trying to overthrow one another. These two countries virtually never left their immediate areas due to the fact of constant civil wars within their countries. The conflicts in France between the Protestants and the Catholics had divided the nation. The spread of Calvinism persuaded the French ruler, Catherine de Médicis, to show more tolerance for the Huguenots. This angered the Catholic Guise family and led to the massacre of the Huguenot worshipers. The massacre caused an uprising among the states and led to multiple skirmishes. After a period of time compromises were reached until the murder of the Huguenot leader Gaspard II, the civil war resumed. A compromise in 1576 allowed the Huguenots religious freedom until 1584, when the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarre became heir to the French throne. Henry of Navarre heir to the throne led to the War of the Three Henry’s and later brought Spain to the help the Catholics. The wars ended with Henry’s embrace of Catholicism and the religious toleration of the Huguenots was promised by the Edict of Nantes.
The peace did not last for too long with the assassination of Henry IV in 1610, religious tolerance began to fade away again. Countries in the immediate area seemed to try and avoid war for as long as they can, but by 1618 the Thirty Years war erupted. This was a result of Ferdinand trying to suppress Protestantism and local estates, and as a message to King Ferdinand’s demands, Protestant leaders hurled two messengers out their windows marking the start of the war. The Thirty Years war involved many countries fighting to stop or spread Catholicism and Protestantism. By the year 1648, much of central Europe and shifted away from Catholicism. Due to many weakened states, the result from the war is that European countries would emerge more centralized than split states. Protestantism and Catholicism eventually took its place among its chosen nations. The Peace of Westphalia was created as a result of the war, this created peace between the warring factions and religious tolerance.