Protestant Church: Study on the Religion of Protestantism

The Protestant Church is one of the oldest churches. Do you want to know the history of this church?

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Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that arose after the Reformation. Its aim is to return the church to its faith of the first centuries.

In this article you will discover:

• The history of the Protestant church;

• The History and Reforms of Martin Luther;

• The causes of the rupture within the Protestant Church.

Before we continue, here are several articles that might interest you:

• 7 Essential Points for Christian Prayer
• The difference between the Catholic and Protestant religion

Without further ado, let’s get to the heart of the matter!

Origin of the Protestant religion

Protestantism is one of the main trends in Christianity, which appeared in the 16th century during the Reformation. The origin of the term refers to the events of 1529. When, at the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire, held in the German city of Speyer, it was proposed to annul the decision of the previous Reichstag.

This decision referred to the right of princes and imperial cities. It was taken before the convening of an all-German cathedral to independently choose the religion on their territory. The supporters of the reform, who did not agree with this proposal, left the meeting. After drafting a document of protest , they started calling themselves Protestants .

Subsequently, the term was applied to all adherents of the teachings that emerged as a result of the Reformation. Protestantism, having emerged as a combination of diverse tendencies, was never, unlike Catholicism and Orthodoxy, a single whole. The largest areas of Protestantism include the Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anglicanism (see 'Church of England'), which are commonly referred to as 'classical' Protestantism.

Other independent denominations are associated with them, differing from each other in dogma, worship and organization. Among others, there are Baptists (see "Baptism"), Mennonites, Methodists, Adventists (see "Adventism"), Pentecostals, Quakers, New Apostolic churches. Also, Jehovah's Witnesses, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), the Christian Science Society, the Church of Christ (Boston Movement). Other denominations are genetically related to Protestantism, but in their ideological development have gone far beyond its framework. They are usually referred to as new religious movements .

History of the Protestant religion

THE Protestantism was born in the 16th century in Western Europe in connection with the activities of M. Luther, W. Zwingli, J. Calvin, F. Melanchthon, M. Butser, G. Bullinger, T. Cranmer and others. Protestantism is characterized by a declaration on the need to return the church to the faith of the first centuries of the Christianity . This faith which was distorted by the latest innovations of medieval Catholicism.

The doctrine of justification by faith of M. Luther , who became the cornerstone of Protestantism, embodied in the concept of three. This concept states that: a person is saved only by faith, he obtains it only by the grace of God, the authority in matters of faith is only Scripture. That is, "only by faith", "only by grace" and "only by Scripture". Luther's special attitude towards the Holy Scriptures In particular, his translation of the Bible into German became a great contribution to culture.

His revolt concerns in part the texts of the New Testament. As for the main authority, was the reason why his disciples called Evangelical Lutheran Christians . The most important confessional documents of Lutheranism are the "Large Catechism" and the "Small Catechism" of Luther came out in 1529. Other books like the Augsburg Confession (1530), the Formula of Consent (1577), collected in the Book of Consent, whose publication in 1580 was supposed to testify to the unity of the Lutheran church.

History of Martin Luther.

Martin Luther was raised in a wealthy peasant family in Thuringia (Germany). He began his education at the University of Erfurt, where he studied nominalist philosophy. In 1505 he entered the Augustinian friar monastery in the city, thus beginning his career ecclesiastic , who would end up in Wittenberg, studying theology.

Immersed in the study of classical languages, he soon began working as a professor of Holy Scripture. This brought him into contact with early Christianity and its religious message. This training played a decisive role in the development of his doctrine. But the materialization of his success can only be explained through his extraordinary personality and the vicissitudes of his life experience.

Luther's ideological transformation and his estrangement from Rome date back to the 1510s. When, according to his memoirs, he began to sink into a deep crisis of faith. Through his in-depth study of the Bible, he sought to find answers to one of the theological questions that troubled him most: the salvation of man. He found the answer in a passage from Saint Paul's Epistle to the Romans: "The just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17).

This discovery was a real revelation for Luther, because around it he articulated the premise on which he would build his entire doctrine: the salvation of man by divine grace . This principle implied a reinterpretation of the role of the church and of the entire Catholic liturgy. Since it was the faith in God who saved and not works or sacraments.

The main reforms brought about by Martin Luther. 

From this basis, he began to define some of the fundamental characteristics of his religious doctrine . First, the predestination of man, whose condemnation or salvation depends solely on God, limits his ability to choose between good and evil. This results in a pessimistic view of the human being.

On the other hand, the The Word of God , incarnated in the Bible, is the one that occupies the center of the religious message. The one that is oriented towards a more direct, personal and spiritual relationship with God. Thus, any other interpretation of the Bible is rejected, in addition to reducing the importance of the sacraments, which are limited to two (Baptism and Eucharist). The elimination of the mediation of the Saints and the Virgin . They become models to follow and not objects of devotion, leaving the images and forms of devotion.

Furthermore, the new organization of the church is oriented towards a more egalitarian system. In this system, the only difference between the "pastors" and the rest of the believers lies in the service. The former give back to the community as administrators of the sacraments and preachers. In this way, faithful and pastors share the same way of life, which breaks with the principle of celibacy of the Catholic priesthood.

Finally, the liturgy became more participatory, and German replaced Latin as the language in which the Mass was taught. This involved a greater number of faithful in the reading of the psalms and biblical texts. The latter were often set to music, in an attempt to bring the religion to everyone.

From the spread of the Reformation to the wars of religion.

The support of the German princes and cities had made the Lutheran Reformation successful and, with it, the definitive break with the Catholic Church . However, the princes themselves were aware of the need to avoid a religious fracture. This fracture would endanger the precarious situation of peace maintained between the territories of the Empire. To this end, successive diets and theological debates were convened in Marburg (1529), Augsburg (1530) and Regensburg (1541).

These meetings attempted in vain to bring the positions closer together, both between Protestants and Catholics than among the confessions themselves that separated from Lutheran Protestantism. The attempts failed, because the political and military situation that the Empire was going through made an agreement impossible. And none of this could prevent the confrontation. The creation of the Smalkalda League in 1531 is a point of no return. This league represents a first military union of princes and Protestant cities Germans against imperial power.

The number continued to grow in the following years. From its inception until 1539, more than 29 cities and 15 German princes were part of it. This military union was defeated by Emperor Charles V at the famous Battle of Mühlberg (1547). However, neither this victory nor the peace signed in Augsburg in 1555 brought about the religious reconciliation of the Empire. The clauses of this agreement included the recognition of the Lutheran creed, but any other religious confession was excluded.

In addition, the principle of religious territorialism was imposed. This principle stipulated that each prince and each city could choose their religion and impose it on their citizens, who had to accept it without further ado (cuius regio, eius religio). So freedom of worship at the individual level was far from being a reality. While the Empire was bleeding to death in religious clashes between Lutherans and Catholics, other groups and religious movements have emerged across the continent, further deepening Europe's confessional fragmentation.

This news churches , which, like Luther, have traced new paths on the journey of faith. They contain a history so complex and extensive that their analysis would exceed the limits. However, we cannot close this story without mentioning at least the most important reformist movements. The same is true for the reform carried out by the Catholic Church in response to the new European religious situation.

The disciples and the demonstrations aroused by the ideology of Martin Luther.

One of the first Luther's disciples was Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), who succeeded in introducing the Reformation in the Swiss Confederation. This reformer pushed to the extreme some of the fundamental aspects of Lutheranism, such as the rejection of images and the idea of ​​the predestination of man. His great contribution was the creation of a church more organized and independent of political powers than him, become the Lutheran. However, his proselytism led him to confront the Catholic cantons and cities of Switzerland. The latter, supported by the emperor, ended up defeating Zwingli at Kappel in 1531. This defeat definitively collapsed his religious project.

At the same time, other movements emerged that could hardly be called true religions, but rather sects or radical groups. These communities had in common an apocalyptic and revolutionary component. They had a direct rejection of Catholic orthodoxy , although there were great differences between them. From the most peaceful groups to those that resulted in insurrectionary movements against the established order, such as that of the Anabaptist of Münster (1534-1535). Despite everything, the rapid action of the imperial powers finally stifled their resistance.

Another key figure in the reform was John Calvin (1509-1564). He established a more ordered cult and an ecclesiastical hierarchy even more defined and effective than the Lutheran. On the doctrinal level, he gave absolute importance to the divine will and to the idea of ​​predestination, which played a central role in his religious message .

In addition, he established a rigid religious system in the city ​​of Geneva , where religious authorities exercised tight control over the believing community. They condemned and eliminated any type of dissent or heresy. And despite the political difficulties of the time, his ideas achieved wide diffusion. First in Switzerland and later in France (where they were called Huguenots ), in the Netherlands and Scotland, each of these groups having its own particularities.

In the British Isles, one cannot ignore the case of the Anglican Reformation undertaken by Henry VIII. It followed his confrontation with Rome because of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. This case was different from the others, since the reasons that led to the religious rupture were more political. Moreover, the Anglican Church has retained many characteristics of Catholic liturgy and doctrine.

But the English monarch's estrangement from the papal hierarchy and the establishment of a national church in England marked a turning point in European political and religious history.

The circumstances leading to the break in the Protestant Church

The circumstances that led to the erosion of papal power and the rupture of Christian unity indicate a series of factors and causes. Moreover, the decisive intervention of Luther in addition to all this can explain the success of the Protestant Reformation . The first of this accumulation of factors was, without a doubt, the state of corruption and vices that afflicted a large part of the ecclesiastical establishment. A moral and spiritual weakness of which the Church itself was conscious and for which it was the object of much criticism.

From the lowest levels of their hierarchy, there was a rural clergy that was poorly trained and often incapable of transmitting the religious message to its faithful. While these rural priests limited themselves to administering rites and sacraments that they barely understood, life in the monasteries became increasingly lax. In fact, respect for the norms of poverty, obedience and austerity by which the orders were governed had disappeared. But the most serious situation was the situation of the bishops. They were more concerned with material goods, wealth and political power than with their spiritual work.

Finally, at the top of its hierarchy, there was a papacy that saw its prestige and moral authority in free fall. To the ills of the clergy must be added the search for a religiosity more authentic from those who constituted the bulk of the Christian community: the believers. The end of the Middle Ages brought a new popular religiosity. In the latter, the fear of divine punishment and death created a new atmosphere of uncertainty and destitution among the faithful.

Faced with this situation, the Church's response was certainly ineffective, resorting to methods as controversial and lucrative as the payment of indulgences. Around these methods gravitated the famous "95 theses" of Luther . These theses were studied and criticized by the humanists of the sculpture of Erasmus of Rotterdam. At the same time, reform initiatives were undertaken by ecclesiastical institutions such as the Brothers of the Common Life. But neither the model of modern devotion defended by the latter, nor the contributions of Christian humanism did not come to constitute a real alternative for the believing community. The latter demanded a return to the purest and most authentic Christianity.

The sum of the political and social interests of certain groups of the time, which led to the success of the reformist doctrine in a large part of Europe. At that time, new economic and social forces, such as the capitalist bourgeoisie, entered the scene. Although the determining political factor was the situation of the Empire, where Lutheranism was able to channel the discontent of the emperor and the German princes towards the pope. This movement established itself as an interesting ally in their political struggle .

The faith of the Protestant Church and objects for Christians

Now you all know the history of the Protestant Church.

In short, Protestantism was born out of Luther's Reformation . Luther and his struggle embodied for them the anti-Roman sentiment and the idea of ​​rupture that both the nobility and a part of German humanism defended. In addition, the implementation of the Reformation would involve a transfer of property and wealth from the abolished religious orders, which would arouse the interest of princes and nobles throughout the Empire.

In order to help you better understand the basics of Christian history and the Protestant Church , we regularly post blog articles. Our texts will allow you to deepen your knowledge of the history of Christianity.