AP European History
The Protestant Reformation, Catholic Reformation, and The Council of Trent
Through the late 1400’s and into the 1500’s, there began an age called The Age of Reformation. This age brought upon new thought processes, allowed for peasants to express themselves better, and to comprehend problems that were previously too difficult to understand. The Catholic Reformation of the 16th Century was a response to the Protestant movement; the Council of Trent reassessed the Catholic Church’s doctrines with numerous differences.
As a whole, the Age of Reformation was brought on by factors such as: economy, religion, politics, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin. The Catholic Reformation was a movement to “…eliminate abuses and respond to Protestants.” (Lowrey) The meaning of ‘eliminating abuses’ was to eradicate corruption from within the church. This corruption consisted of priests and kings having mistresses and divorces, two impieties that were frequently achieved. The main idea of the Catholic Reformation was to keep the peasants from straying further from Catholic beliefs, and also to rid the church of corruption (KOT 372)
The Council of Trent was a very significant part of the Catholic Reformation. This is because the council was formed to alter Church policies to reflect the changes sought after by the Catholic Church. The council changed things like: inhibiting the selling of church offices, strengthening bishops’ power so they could rule appropriately, and constructed academies. These changes all enforced stronger Catholic rule. (KOT 375)
The Protestant Reformation was almost considered a comeback to the Catholic Reformation. This renovation was based around “Justification by faith alone”. This belief was that, “ The righteousness that God demands…did not result from many religious works and ceremonies, but was given in full measure to those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ, who alone is the perfect righteousness...