The religious and social movement known as the Reformation began in the 16th century as a revolt against the Roman Catholic church. Led by Martin Luther and John Calvin, the Reformation reached across much of Europe. Wherever it spread, it challenged the authority of the Catholic church and unleashed forces of political and social change. The Reformation led to the founding of Protestantism, one of the three major branches of Christianity.

Origins of the Reformation

At the start of the 16th century the Roman Catholic church was one of the most powerful institutions in Europe. Almost all of the people of western and central Europe belonged to the Catholic church. The church held the authority to interpret the Bible and to establish principles of Christian belief. It also owned tremendous amounts of land and was quite wealthy.

Religious thinkers had begun to question the religious authority of the Roman Catholic church as early as the 14th century. The English priest John Wycliffe and the Czech religious radical Jan Hus led movements against the power of the church. Both Wycliffe and Hus preached that all people could interpret the Bible as they understood it. In addition to challenging such religious doctrines, these early reformers also attacked the wealth and corruption of the church. Although the ideas of Wycliffe, Hus, and other early reformers were suppressed by the church, they spread throughout parts of Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries.

Martin Luther and the 95 theses

Criticism of the Roman Catholic church reached a high point in the German town of Wittenberg during the early 16th century. There the cause of religious reform was taken up by an Augustinian monk, priest, and professor named Martin Luther. In 1517 he put together a list of grievances against the church, known as the 95 theses. He is said to have nailed the list to the door of the church in Wittenberg.

The 95 theses rejected the authority of the Roman church and the pope. Luther argued that individuals could learn all religious truths directly from the bible. He called for the end of monasteries and convents and for reforms that would allow members of the clergy to marry. Luther also demanded the elimination of all the sacraments, or religious rituals, of Catholicism, except for baptism and the taking of the Eucharist. (See also Luther, Martin.)

The Reformation spreads

Pope Leo X condemned Luther's teachings. Nevertheless, Luther's message spread quickly across Germany. The Reformation was brought to neighboring France by numerous theologians, including John Calvin. Calvin preached a form of simple Christianity that inspired French Protestants, who came to be known as Huguenots.

Forced to flee from France, Calvin settled in Switzerland. There he carried on the work of Huldrych Zwingli, who had succeeded in converting many Swiss to Protestantism. From central Europe the Reformation spread to England and to eastern Europe.

Counter-Reformation

Alarmed by the spread of Protestantism, the Roman Catholic church tried to turn back the gains made by the Reformation. In 1534 a zealous Catholic monk named Ignatius of Loyola established a group known as the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. In 1540 the Catholic church officially approved the Jesuits as the principal defender of the Catholic church against the Reformation. From 1545 to 1563 a Catholic body known as the Council of Trent issued a number of decrees designed to correct many of the problems of the Catholic church. The Council of Trent also condemned the new religious doctrines of the Reformation and reemphasized ancient doctrines and traditions. The Counter-Reformation succeeded in winning back many people who had left the Catholic church.

Religious conflict

Ongoing tensions between Protestants and Catholics led to many years of conflict. In the 1560s warfare broke out between Catholics and Huguenots in France. By the end of the 16th century fighting between Catholics and Protestants had spread to The Netherlands. In the 17th century Catholics and Protestants fought the Thirty Years' War, which spread across most of Europe.

The Thirty Years' War came to an end with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Grieved by the great bloodshed of the war, the signers of the Peace of Westphalia agreed to respect all varieties of Christianity. Although fighting between Catholics and Protestants continued off and on throughout the 17th century, the Peace of Westphalia paved the way for greater religious tolerance in Europe. Nevertheless, by the end of the war Europe was fundamentally divided into Protestant and Catholic regions. Most of these divisions have remained in place.