Protestant Reformation in England and Europe
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The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, is probably the largest event that impacted on England, as well as the whole Europe. To understand the causes and motivations of the crisis that the Catholic Church had to endure, we should first of all consider the pre-Reformation period. A period when people practiced rituals, and understood it as the means necessary to achieve salvation, thus making them a primary, daily concern. A period when the church, became the gateway to heaven, the only earthly way to attain God's grace. A certain type of pardon, called an indulgence, was taught by the Church as a method to assist the soul in Purgatory, making their time before reaching heaven less painful. It was, in essence, an indulgence granted by the pope that trigged the reaction of Martin Luther against such doctrine, and thus began the Reformation. Protestant doctrine attacked both the cult of the saints and the indulgences for purgatory.
Reformation in Europe was largely sustained by the commoners rebelling over the way they saw things going, the commoners in England had absolutely no insight or awareness on how their daily life was to be affected. In Europe the motivations were less political, but more religious. Many people in power throughout Europe had to have their say in the fate of England, and it was not decision to make, and people were continually altering the way they understood their belief...