The Protestant Reformation The origin of religion can be traced back to the Ancient Near East. Religion itself is divided in three basic characteristics -monotheism, pantheism and polytheism. Thanks to these characteristics, many religions and different denominations appeared (“Origin of Religion”). Since around 330 C.E. monotheism was established as the dominant between them. The emergence of Catholicism and its monotheistic belief was supported by the Roman emperor Constantine I (Hunt 198-206). “The emergence of Christianity generated tension” and that tension re-grew after several decades (Hunt 199). Martin Luther, a German theologian, emerged as the leader of a ‘revolution’ against the Roman Catholic Church’s traditions. The Roman Catholic
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Although the church ignored Luther’s ideas at the beginning and responded slowly to the uprising theological innovations, by 1545 they were minded to respond to all the problems brought by the Reformation. The Council of Trent articulated the Church’s answer to those problems and was the main source for the subsequent reforms within the Catholic Church and faith (“The Reformation”). The new Roman Catholic Church denied some of Luther’s ideas, however, the base of the Catholic faith became the bible instead of tradition (Zucker). The Protestant Reformation was not only affected by all the reformists, but also by the new developments of the era. During this period, the Scientific Revolution was just starting and it set the defining point for many people to understand the origin of life and all the natural laws. Due to all the developments in mathematics, physics, biology, and mainly astronomy, most of the people had a different perspective of life. With all the conflicts between the Roman Catholic Church and the reformers, several individuals started doubting about the credibility of religion and the bible …show more content…
After Christopher Columbus and his crew landed in the American Indies, many other explorers and conquistadors landed in the new continent in search of goods and territory. This new territory was already occupied by the ‘Indians’, who had an already established society. Even though the conquistadors were predominantly Catholic, they got into a new religion, that which the ‘Indians’ were part of. Europeans did not join this religion, but now had knowledge about it. Taking all this new information back to Europe might have influenced how some people see religion. Although the Indians were polytheistic, they did not have to pay for their admission to heaven nor they were summoned by a higher religious authority (Hunt
Although the church ignored Luther’s ideas at the beginning and responded slowly to the uprising theological innovations, by 1545 they were minded to respond to all the problems brought by the Reformation. The Council of Trent articulated the Church’s answer to those problems and was the main source for the subsequent reforms within the Catholic Church and faith (“The Reformation”). The new Roman Catholic Church denied some of Luther’s ideas, however, the base of the Catholic faith became the bible instead of tradition (Zucker). The Protestant Reformation was not only affected by all the reformists, but also by the new developments of the era. During this period, the Scientific Revolution was just starting and it set the defining point for many people to understand the origin of life and all the natural laws. Due to all the developments in mathematics, physics, biology, and mainly astronomy, most of the people had a different perspective of life. With all the conflicts between the Roman Catholic Church and the reformers, several individuals started doubting about the credibility of religion and the bible …show more content…
After Christopher Columbus and his crew landed in the American Indies, many other explorers and conquistadors landed in the new continent in search of goods and territory. This new territory was already occupied by the ‘Indians’, who had an already established society. Even though the conquistadors were predominantly Catholic, they got into a new religion, that which the ‘Indians’ were part of. Europeans did not join this religion, but now had knowledge about it. Taking all this new information back to Europe might have influenced how some people see religion. Although the Indians were polytheistic, they did not have to pay for their admission to heaven nor they were summoned by a higher religious authority (Hunt