Renaissance And Reformation
| Subject: | ⛩️ Culture |
| Type: | Analytical Essay |
| Pages: | 4 |
| Word count: | 836 |
| Topics: | Renaissance, ✝️ Christianity, Church, Reformation |
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Can we assume that European exploratory voyages and the founding of European overseas empires would never have taken place without the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation? In this essay, I will present arguments that the investigations carried out by Europeans would not have been possible without the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation.
The essence of the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation and their relationship
The Renaissance was a cultural transformation and revival of European literature and art that lasted from the 14th to the 16th century. The Renaissance originated in Italy and expanded across Europe in the following years. Italians primarily contributed their finances to the development of the artistic society, which included the production of higher-quality artworks and sculptures. It was during this time that Italian scientists took an interest in the world at large, and this became the basis for European research trips. Afterwards, scientists from all over Europe got curious about the remaining world, so affluent people dispatched ships and explorers to explore new lands, learning, treasures, etc. The researchers then carried back all the discoveries they could bear so that scientists could learn from them.
The Protestant Reformation is a Christian reform movement headed by Martin Luther. During the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church prevailed in Western Europe. It was full of enemies, so when the Reformation proposed the option of reducing the authority of the Pope, many people reasoned that if the power of the Pope was reduced, their own power over the Roman Church and other rulers would grow. The church was also corrupt and numerous efforts had been undertaken to transform the church, but none had been able to effectively contest the actions of the church until Martin Luther. Luther was a monk and launched the Reformation when he displayed his 95 Theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. They included a list of 95 points that Luther believed the church was making incorrectly.
Initially, the church disregarded Luther, but after his thoughts quickly became popularized across Europe, he was forced to retract his thoughts, but he declined and was kicked out of the church. The church established an entire council to address the concepts that Luther was spreading. Many people became drawn in his writings, and they began to analyze that he was justified. People began to recognize that the issue was the actions of a handful of corrupt and influential people. People merely required a church that was not governed by the pope, that was not involved in politics.
Exploring the world through Renaissance traditions
In the Renaissance, many European countries initiated the discovery of the world by sea. The investigators had various intentions for participating in these expeditions, but the majority of them did so because of Renaissance values such as richness, interest, and religion. European researchers traveled to Asia to bring in spices, which were very precious for trade and sale at the time. A country’s prosperity no more relied solely on its gold and silver. These events gave rise to the idea of capitalism in many nations. European rulers, such as King Ferdinand of Spain and Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal, funded researchers who were willing to sail the seas. Exploration also led to an unknown path for the slave industry. Europeans stepped up colonization in the new world, particularly after the opening of the Americas. They needed to establish new cities, so they required people to undertake unpaid labor, so they purchased slaves from Africa.
The importance of religious faith
Europeans considered that Christianity should be a global religion, therefore some researchers participated in voyages only to share their faith with the people they met along the way. Religion was a significant motivation for the explorers, particularly the Catholic rulers; they were so dedicated to propagating their religion in the new world that they would recruit people just to come along on the expansion and promote the religion. After Luther denounced the Roman Catholic Church, some of these people journeyed to various corners of the world to seek a renewed faith. These people were searching for a destination where there was no leader to compel them to have faith in anything. Just as the Crusaders attempted to employ force against Muslims to convert them to Christianity. These priests were very interested in turning infidels into Christians, frequently neglecting the human rights of people until they became Christians.
Conclusion
Religion and wealth were among the drivers behind European exploration voyages. The other reasons were land expansion, further knowledge, and interest. The Renaissance opened up new horizons for people, and some of them took advantage of these opportunities and got extremely rich. Consequently, the Renaissance opened up new ways of earning money, and the Protestant Reformation forced people to grasp the power of religion and the implications it has if its lessons are not shared correctly. Therefore, the European geographical discoveries would not have taken place without the revival of literature, art, science, technology, and the reformation of the Catholic Church.
Offered for reference purposes only.