8/8/2019 Reformation Essay

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Jack Werner and Tristan Duff 

Reformation Essay

Throughout the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation had a tremendous impact

on all routines of life. The Reformation called for an era of new religious thought and demanded

the average person to question the Church; a previously sacrilegious idea. Martin Luther becamea symbol of revolution spurring the Peasants’ Revolt and later inspiring his counterpart, John

Calvin. Although the majority textbooks only skim over the impacts on education and freedom

of conscience, the Reformation fundamentally transformed these institutions in a plethora of ways.

When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg on

October 31, 1517, he publicly humiliated the most powerful establishment for centuries. Even

this initial act, in a way, signified a lasting impact on freedom of conscience or thought.Freedom of conscience can generally be defined as “the freedom of an individual to hold or 

consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others’ viewpoints.” (wiki) After John

Huss and John Wycliffe set the stage, Martin Luther’s emergence had impeccable timing. The

 peasants felt resentment towards indulgences and higher taxes by the Church, but no one had thegall or education to voice their opinions. When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, he

unintentionally ascertained the idea that holding a different viewpoint, even against anestablishment such as the Catholic Church, was tolerable. This spurred Zwingli and Calvin to

also speak out and invariably create their movements. As radical groups appeared such as the

Anabaptists, Spiritualists, and Antitrinitarians, Europe for the first time saw the element of 

freedom of conscience. The Peace of Passau presented by Charles V in August 1522 guaranteedLutherans religious freedom to practice their ideas. Although it denied other notable groups such

as the Calvinists, this act was the first time people were legally allowed to hold dissenting

opinions against the established order. Before the Protestant Reformation, everybody in Europeheld the same religious belief, but after religion became a separate idea, it established a train of 

thought bent on adhering to one’s beliefs. In this way, the Protestant Reformation was the firststepping stone towards freedom of conscience on all subjects. If people were allowed to holddifferent viewpoints on religion, what stopped them from holding different viewpoints on the

government? Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin represented the right to speak out against injustice of 

an establishment, and this idea could not and would not be forgotten, guiding history to the puritans, the New World, and eventually the American Revolution.