- [Narrator] The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century
shook the very foundation of Europe's cultural identity.
The Reformation was a revolution
of religion in western Europe.
Essentially, it was the result of centuries worth
of political and social grievances
against the Christian Church as it existed.
Christianity, which began as a fledgling religion
in the 1st century, had grown by the 13th century
into an institution powerful enough
to rival state governments.
For instance, the Pope, then the leader
of the Christian Church, had greater political
and military influence than some emperors and kings.
This tension was exacerbated by the transformative
social and intellectual period
known as the Renaissance.
In particular, this period involved the rise of humanism.
A philosophy that shifted man's fate
from being determined by religious doctrine
to being determined by man himself.
Additionally, some within the Church
believed it had become increasingly corrupt.
Priests like John Wycliffe of England
and Jan Hus of Bohemia challenged the Church's teachings,
which they believed had strayed away from the Bible.
However, one of the most well-known advocates
for a reformed Christian Church
was a German priest named Martin Luther.
Martin Luther began to question the Church
in the early 1500s.
He believed it was abusing its power
and disagreed with some of its practices.
For instance, he challenged the Church's doctrine
that stated the Pope, not the Bible,
was the ultimate spiritual authority.
Plus, he criticized the Church for selling indulgences,
the practice of purchasing forgiveness of one's sins
by giving money to the Church.
Luther believed the Church needed to revise its doctrine
by returning to the Bible's teachings
and by saying that salvation could be granted
by faith in Christ alone.
So on October 31, 1517, Luther took a stand.
In what's considered the birth of the Protestant Reformation
Luther is said to have nailed 95 theses,
or arguments against the Church,
onto the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Luther was later put on trial in front of Church officials
to defend his theses.
But in January 1521, the Church declared Luther a heretic
and excommunicated him.
While Luther's membership with the Church ended,
the reformation he argued for
started to gian momentum.
Unlike Luther's predecessors who challenged the church,
Luther had one tool at his disposal
that they didn't have.
The printing press.
This new invention allowed his arguments
to be copied and spread across Europe.
This unprecedented access to ideas such as Luther's
inspired many others to challenge the Church,
thereby splitting Christianity
into two major denominations,
Catholic and Protestant, from the word protest.
Also, the Bible became more accessible.
Luther and other Reformists translated Biblical texts
from Latin, which was only known by nobility
and Church officials, to German, English, and French,
languages spoken by the general public.
While the Protestant Reformation revolutionized
the Christian faith, it had ramifications
that extended beyond religion.
Prior to the Reformation, many Europeans
were dependent on an educated upper class.
But perhaps the most resounding impact of the Reformation
was that the common people were empowered
to question religion and other aspects of life.
The Reformation, along with technological innovations,
and the introduction of other new ideas,
gave many in Europe's general public
the freedom and power to decide their own fates.