Martin Luther's Movement
The atrocities perpetrated on scientists in the conflict between science and religion and the persecutions of Christian monks through the Inquisition inspired many Catholic Christians to think differently. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, a great leader named Martin Luther was born in Germany.
He was a Christian pastor. Once he went to Rome, the corruption and luxuries of the Christian union filled his heart with guilt. He started opposing the corruption spread in Catholicism. Due to this the Roman Christian Union was divided into two parts. The ancient Greek Christian union of Eastern Europe and Russia remained aloof from this conflict. He already considered Rome a far cry from true Christianity.
Movement started under the leadership of Martin Luther 'Protestant Rebellion' called Since these people were opposed to Protest, so 'Protestant-Christian' Called Many kings also supported this movement. These kings wanted the Pope to stop running orders on them. Many Christian clergy, who sincerely wanted that the corruption and luxury that had entered the institution called religion should be ended, they also joined this movement.
Italy was still going in the era of 'Renaissance', so many ideas were also swirling in the public. Some people, after reading Machiavelli's books, were annoyed by the kings and the pope etc. and they also wanted to do something. Due to this there was a strong atmosphere of opposition to the Roman Church in Western Europe. This movement spread so much throughout Western Europe that Christianity was divided into two confederations - Roman Catholic and Protestant. This movement against the Roman Union is also called the Reformation.
The Protestant movement proved to be the largest among all the movements against Rome and the Pope from ancient times to medieval and modern times. It was not in any one or two countries but spread to most of the countries of Europe. Later the Protestants were also divided into many sects. Christian sects called Franciscans and Dominicans came into existence in the sixteenth century.
While Martin Luther was a Protestant movement, a Spanish priest named Ignatius, a resident of Loyola, founded a new Christian union. He named it 'Society of Jesus'. Its members are called Jejuites.
This Jesus Sangh was a wonderful organization. Its main purpose was to create a contingent of dedicated men who devoted full time to the Roman Christian confederacy and to the service of the Pope. This union made its members strong in every way by giving them rigorous training. For this reason, the members of this union proved to be great confidants of the Roman Church and the Pope.
These people had dedicated their whole life for their goal. That is why they did not doubt the orders of the Church and the Pope, but blindly believed in their every order. He did not even hesitate to lay down his life for the interests of the Christian union. Everything was fair to them in the interest of the Christian union.
The character of these people was very bright. Because of this people believed his words. The result of the influence of these people was that corruption in Rome itself was greatly reduced. However, the main reason for the decrease in corruption was the Protestant movement. At that time, Charles (V) of the Hapsburg dynasty was emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. As a result of the marriages of his father and grandfather, he inherited a large empire that included Austria, Germany, Naples, Sicily, the Netherlands and Spanish America.
Thus this king was the master of almost half of Europe. He decided to help the Pope against the Protestants, but many small kings and feudal lords of Germany supported the Protestants. As a result, in Germany two feuding stalwarts, the Romans and the Lutherans, were formed. Their quarrels increased so much that civil war broke out in Germany.
King Henry VIII of England sided with the Protestants against the Pope. His greedy eyes were fixed on the wealth of the Roman Church and the Christian Union. So he broke off relations with Rome and confiscated all the property of monasteries and churches. A major reason for Henry (VIII)'s displeasure with the Pope was that Henry wanted to leave his first queen and marry another woman, but the Pope was not giving permission for it. England broke its ties with Rome and King Henry (VIII) himself became the head of the Christian union of England.
Within a few days, Christianity started running as a government office in England, which meant little to the king. A strange situation arose in France as well. The Prime Minister of the Emperor there 'Richelieu' There was a cardinal and he was also the real ruler of the state. Richelieu kept France on the side of the Pope and Rome and suppressed the Protestants in France.
Richelieu was so deeply political that on the one hand he was suppressing Protestants in his kingdom of France and on the other he was promoting Protestants in Germany so that the fire of civil war in Germany would not cool down.
Martin Luther was the biggest Protestant and fiercely opposed the authority of Rome, but he himself was also very fanatical in the matter of religion. He created a new kind of religious-maniac - 'Puritan' and 'Calvinist' , The general public, unhappy with the Pope and Rome's Inquisition and the tax system, also supported the Protestants, especially the peasants.
Soon a great movement of peasants started in Europe and it went beyond the movement of Protestants. Their main demand was that the practice of slave-tenant should be abolished. At this Martin Luther, who called himself a reformer, was furious at the peasants.
Luther appealed to his followers in public speeches that- 'By this condition all men would be equal and the spiritual kingdom of Christ would be changed to an outer-worldly kingdom. Impossible! There can be no such kingdom on earth in which all people are equal. Some will be free, others slaves, some kings, others will have to remain subjects….
…. It is necessary to kill the agitating farmers. Therefore, those who can do this, they cut the farmers openly or covertly. Kill them and pierce them with knives, and understand that there is no more venomous, evil and utterly evil devil than a rebel. You kill him like you kill a mad dog. If you don't hit him, he'll hit you and the whole country.'
Due to the violent actions taken by Luther's supporters, the peasants turned away from the Protestant movement and at the end of this movement only the middle class of Europe remained with this movement. During that period the middle class in Europe was growing rapidly. Protestant ideas were proving more helpful in the growth of the middle-class than the Catholic Church.
Therefore, a large part of Europe and a large number of middle class people left Catholicism and became Protestant followers. Most of the kings of Europe were also freed from the bondage of the Pope and the Church. People were turning away from the Catholic Church and becoming Protestant, but now religion was fighting in the streets, not in the minds of the people.
The bloody feuds of Catholics and Protestants, the bloodsheds of Catholics and Calvins, the painful deaths shared by the Inquisition, as well as the killings of millions of women by the Puritans in Europe as witches, ultimately resulted in people becoming weary of religion. But for this it was necessary to start an era of economic prosperity and scientific discoveries in Europe.
It was only in the light of prosperity and science that people could see the difference between the real nature and pomp of religion, but people had to wait till the middle of the eighteenth century for that period to begin. Until then, the cycle of bloodshed and violence in Europe was to continue like this.