Diondre McKinney

The Renaissance is marked by a period of cultural, humanistic and scientific enlightenment: It is important to remember this when discussing the Protestant reformantion.The principal impetus behind this movement was undoubtedly in the spirit of The Renaissance: Progress. In regards to its inevitability, one could only conjecture that uproar would have happened at some point, given the abundance of corrupt liturgical practices that plagued the church. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the reformation isnt the reformation itself but its lasting success. I believe that the wealth of information that was starting to become available due to the air of the dayslowly unveiled the decaying church, leaving it vulnerable, susceptible to reform and inevitably a target.

The Protestant reformation cane be seen as a result of accumulation of quite a few factors; Centuries of liturgical corruption, an obsession with power maybe even Henry VIIIs immodest ways. If one could be pinpointed and identified as the cause It is difficult to believe that the Reformation would have happened.and then this essay would be moot .As is the case in most significant historical events, the reformation was a conglomerate of opportunity and reason forged by its environment.

The first cracks begin to show with The Great Schism several individuals claimed to be pope and there was much discord with the Council of Constance between bishops and popes. Ultimately the papal government was hindered and sullied in the eyes of Italy. Meanwhile in England, John Wycliffe, somewhat of a precursor to Martin Luther, created the first English bible. The Lollards were Wyclifs followers, they attempted to rebel against the but failed and were perceived to be a radical, minority that was shunned by popular belief. Catholicism carried on shamelessly and proud in the same fashion to which it was accustomed; selling offices and indulgences, a political game of sorts for princes(power) and a marvelous way to gain extra income.

Europe being semi-anti-papal wasnt a new thing ; it had been unhappy for centuries. What made this century different was its focus on education. Though still only a small amount of the population was literate, literacy was more spread out to lay people who didnt have a political tie to the church. As a result, the church had fallen upon perhaps the greatest scrutiny to date. This scrutiny came from the great humanists of the time that studied scriptures and classical texts. Though their findings might have been alarming, they , for the most part, remained loyal to the church, idealizing some sort of reformation from within. It was Martin Luther, a cleric who never felt worthy of the grace of God that ignited this European reform conflagration. Luther was appalled by the sale of indulgences and concluded that salvation was strictly between God and the individual himself. By nailing his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, he incited immense theological disputes and was labeled heretic.

It is historically comical that Henry VIII, refuted Luther and was rewarded with the title of Defender of the Faith - in 1521. But, I digress, Luther's ideas were spread rapidly and soon reached England. The Defender of the Faith kept England Catholic despite Luthers widely popular ideologythat is until he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, widow of his brother and mother of his only surviving FEMALE child, Mary. He viewed his marriage as blasphemous and figured that he was being cursed by god. In addition, he had a thing going with Anne Boleyn. In 1527 he petitioned Clement VII for a divorce but Clement, somewhat in the palm of the nephew of Catherine, Charles V Emperor of Spains hand didnt grant him his request, so naturally the Defender of the faith broke England away from Rome.

Thomas Cranmer, suggested English kings have Imperial Power similar to that of the first Christian Roman Emperors. This meant that the Pope's jurisdiction was null: if Henry could get a divorce if Archbishop of Canterbury abided, but he didnt. At any rate, Anne was pregnant and Henry had to marry her in order for the child to be a legitimate heir to the throne. Luckily, Warham, the Archbishop of Canterbury died and Henry replaced him with Cranmer and the divorce finally happened. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy rooted the break from the papacy. Henry was declared Supreme Head of the Church of England.Henry was never a protestant, but The Reform had just begun.

Was the Reformation Inevitable? Simply put, yes. As history proves time and time again, when people are unhappy with their leadership, they do something about it. The Greeks did against the Persians in the Ionian revolt, the Colonists against Great Britain in the American Revolution and I do just about every day against the Curtisian way of life, but my efforts go unnoticed I digress. Structure built upon manipulation, greed and lies will often crumble in the fists of reason, intellect and scrutiny.