Home > History Fact Finder > Religion - What Was The Reformation?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

What was the Reformation?

The Reformation, sometimes called the Protestant Reformation, was a sixteenth-century movement to reform the doctrines (established beliefs) and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The starting point of the Reformation is often given as 1517, when German monk and professor of theology (study of religion) Martin Luther (1483–1546) nailed his Ninety-Five Theses (arguments or assertions) to the door of Castle Church at Wittenberg in Germany. These theses attacked the corruption of church leaders and the doctrines of transubstantiation (the teaching that the bread and wine of the Eucharist, the celebration of Christ's last supper, is actually transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ), clerical celibacy (priests refraining from sexual relations), and the pope's supremacy. Although calls for church reform had been voiced in the past, it took Luther and his theses to ignite the movement. As a...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Mythology
   1. How are religions classified?
   2. What is mythology?
2. Eastern Faiths
   1. What is Buddhism?
   2. What are the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism?
   3. Who is the Dalai Lama?
   4. What is the controversy over Tibet?
   5. What is Zen Buddhism?
   6. What is Hinduism?
   7. What is karma?
   8. What is Shinto?
   9. How old is Islam?
   10. Who wrote the Koran?
   11. What are the two main groups of Islam?
   12. What are Islam's Five Pillars of Faith?
   13. Why is Mecca a holy city for Muslims?
3. Judaism And Christianity
   1. When was the Bible written?
   2. What is the difference between the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament?
   3. What are the divisions of the Hebrew Bible?
   4. What is a prophet?
   5. What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
   6. What was the Exodus from Egypt?
   7. What were the Ten Plagues?
   8. Did Moses really stutter?
   9. What are the Ten Commandments?
   10. Who was Jesus of Nazareth?
   11. Why were the religious leaders angered by Jesus of Nazareth?
   12. Are apostles the same as disciples?
   13. What are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
   14. Why do Jews, Christians, and Muslims all claim Palestine as their Holy Land?
   15. What is Golgotha?
   16. What was an infidel?
   17. What were the Crusades and how did they change Europe?
   18. How does the Roman Catholic Church choose who will be the pope and how many popes have there been?
   19. What caused the East-West Schism in the Catholic Church?
   20. Why was the Bible translated into English?
   21. What was the Reformation?
   22. Why were Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses so important?
   23. What was the Peace of Augsburg?
   24. What was the Counter Reformation?
   25. Who are the Jesuits?
   26. Who were the Puritans?
   27. What was the Great Awakening?
   28. What is the Protestant ethic?
   29. What are the criteria for sainthood?
   30. Will Mother Teresa be sainted?

1. Buddhism