The Renaissance was a period in Europe that happened between the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. Most history scholars consider it as the main point of connection between the middle age and the modern history. Renaissance started in Italy, and arrived in the other European countries in the succeeding years. The period of the Renaissance was the first step towards religious revolution, commonly referred to as Protestant Reformation (Tankard, n.p). It is probably the political circumstances of the sixteenth century that led to its success in some places and failure in others. The Renaissance period was a mark of major changes in various fields, most notably in the field of religion.
The immense power wielded by the Church started to fade away during the Renaissance period. Previously, the authority of the Catholic Church was unquestionable, but critical thinkers who came up during this period started to question some of the beliefs ostensibly preached by the church. For example, it was believed that the earth was the center of the solar system, and anyone preaching otherwise was quickly apprehended for contradicting and undermining the authority of the church. However, the modern society, through the discoveries made by Nickolas Copernicus, adopted the new ideology that the sun was the center of the universe unlike in the medieval era where people were made to believe otherwise.
Copernicus even went ahead to write a book on this great discovery that would form new and even more findings in the world of astronomy (Copernicus, 26). Previously, everything was attributed to the supernatural and science was not well developed. However, the Renaissance Period saw the emergence of new fields of Science, which could contract the beliefs held previously.
For example, Albert Durer inspired the modern mathematical world as he encouraged the society to study mathematics to understand the classical artwork of the time. The modern science owed Andreas Vesalius for realizing that the heart had four chambers. This motivated more studies in the field of anatomy and also the authoring of various books, which continue to be of great importance in the contemporary society.
Various factors led to the weakening of the Catholic Church and the ultimate need for reformation. King Henry, for example, wanted to end his marriage, but the Pope declined the request. For this reason, the King demanded the closure of all the Catholic monasteries in England, therefore, taking all their riches. The move weakened the church because it did not have the financial muscle that it had previously. There were also religious activists such as Jon Wycliffe and Jan Hus, who believed that the Bible was the ultimate source of any religious authority. They also were interested in purifying the Catholic Church into its initial form. Their ideologies influenced several future reformers, who believed that the clergy had forgotten its role (Gilliland, n.p).
The most conspicuous figure to aid in the weakening of the Catholic Church was Martin Luther. To him, the only true salvation was the baptism and Eucharist and, therefore, the church of that time was spreading force salvation. This had a major impact on the church as the man started the Protestant church, which within no time had several followers, especially in Northern Europe. William Tyndale continued with the translation of the Bible after Luther, therefore, making his views more Protestant. He specifically made the King James Version, which had a great influence on English language, literature, and worship, therefore, making the Christians have a personal interpretation and understanding of the Bible (Gilliland, n.p).
Renaissance humanists did not reject Christianity, but how the Catholic Church ran its affairs while controlling the church. The clergy was very corrupt. It no longer paid attention to spread the gospel but indulged in the worldly pleasures. For instance, it was possible to find that the priests sold indulgences, which was contrary to the teachings of the Bible. Rich people could “purchase” forgiveness after parting with their wealth to the priests. Previously, some of these practices had gone on because no one had challenged them.
The interests of the clergy in politics were excessive especially since it was meant for personal gain. Also, the Church owned large tracts of land from which they collected revenues that were directed to the Roman coffers. This led to a drain on the national treasury since the money was never available for national development. The Pope too got involved in the European politics and acted as he pleased. It is some of this reasons that triggered the Reformation.
The humanists aimed at reforming the whole institution of the Church. The moral lives of the clergy were the first on the list alongside the Papal claim to supremacy. They were also interested in asserting political power and its significance at the national level. Humanists, especially in the northern Renaissance, created their ideals against the Christian backdrop. The period had much effect on theology especially in perceiving the relationship between God and man.
Other Protestant Reformers such the Anabaptists and Calvinists made their mark too in changing the popular attitude towards religion (Little, np). Anabaptists were particularly at the forefront of rejecting the idea of the church and the state being one and the same thing. Their view was that the two should be separate (Little, np). Initially, religion could be forced on people because the distinction between the state and religion was nonexistent (Little, np). To the reformers, everyone had a right to decide their religion of choice. However, this was something the conservatives did not want to hear about.
The end result was that the reformers were continuously persecuted for their radical ideas. The more the church persecuted the so called rebels, the more they gained followers. For example, Calvinism started spreading Northern Europe. Great Britain became the bedrock of Calvinism, particularly in the Seventeenth Century (Little, np). However, there were divisions among the Calvinists about the extent of limiting one’s freedom of conscience (Little, np).
Nonetheless, the concept of religious freedom did not stall at that point despite the inherent challenges. In the Sixteenth Century, for instance, reform-minded Catholics such as Bartholomew de las Casas still agitated for religious freedom (Little, np). They were also vocal on political matters too because to them, the political systems of the time went overboard in pursuit of their interests. For example, they condemned the colonization going on in Latin America. They were sympathetic to the Native people, because the European invaders were just violating the freedoms of the Native people.
Therefore, the Renaissance period was a crucial period in charting a new religious path. New sects were formed, and that was mainly attributable to the fact that the Catholic Church was weak and the reformers could criticize it for its indulgence into worldly affairs and involvement in state matters, while the Church ought to be independent from the state. Many could question the authority of the Pope, and real message of the Bible translated by the Church.
The actions of the early reformers like John Calvin and Martin Luther had a significant influence on the religious direction taken by people in the succeeding centuries (Humanism.org.uk). The disagreement between the Church and the King of England also fanned the separation of states from the Church (Humanism.org.uk). It set a trend whereby religious issues were handled differently from state matters, and that was crucial in setting a new political path in Europe. Even in the later centuries, the same model was copied by nations outside Europe, simply because there was a clear distinction between religious and political issues.
The reduced dominance of the Catholic Church also had a significant effect on the rise of science. Initially, scientific growth was somewhat stunted due to the huge oversight the Church had on scientific teachings. New thinkers who did not necessarily lean towards specific religious groupings came up with radical ideas that questioned the knowledge that had been hitherto spread by the Church.
In conclusion, the Renaissance period was indeed a mark of major changes in various fields, particularly in religion. The period formed the bridge between the Middle Age and the modern era. The authority of the Catholic Church was weakened at that time, and Protestant Reformers led the new religious direction. Reformers such as John Calvin and Martin Luther became vocal at that time, and their rebellion was due to some practices of the Church. The separation of the church from the state was also another aspect that had significant influence in the decades later. Various inventions were made in the field of science, and that was because the spread of knowledge was not under the influence of religion.
Works Cited
Copernicus, Nicolaus. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. Nuremberg: Johannes Petreius, 1543. Print.
Gilliland, Cierra. Factors that led to the weakening of the Catholic Church. 24 April 2014. Web. 8 April 2016 <https://prezi.com/vudvro1xxs2s/factors-that-led-to-the-weakening-of-the-catholic-church/>.
Humanism.org.uk. "Renaissance". British Humanist Association. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Little, David. "Christianity And Religious Freedom In The Early Modern Period (1454 – 1750)".
Berkleycenter.georgetown.edu. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Tankard, Keith. Reinassance and Reformation. 15 January 2014. Web. 8 April 2016 <http://www.worldhistory.knowledge4africa.com/reformation/reformation-01.jsp>.
