Issue I, Volume I Journal of Islamic Thought & Civilization Spring 2011

Reformation: Religious, Political and Social

Consequences for Western Society
Humaira Ahmad
Abstract
Reformation was a theological movement in 16 th century Europe
to reform the Catholic Christianity. Luther, Calvin and Zwingli
questioned the authority of dogma and supremacy of the pope in
Rome. This led to the formation of hundreds of sects in Western
Christianity. Salvation was sought outside the church.
Consequently, church was excluded from the cultural life of
Western societies. Reformation also gradually established the
role of political authority in religious matters.

‗Reformation‘ emerged as a theological movement during 16 th century in Europe

which attempted to change and improve the Catholic Church, and resulted in the
establishment of the Protestant Church. This movement was a revolt against the
authority of medieval Catholic Church aimed at reforming the church of
Christendom and removing its tribulations. 202 The Reformation was not a sudden
upsurge or a reaction to any particular incident. It was the outcome of the Church‘s
excesses spread over decades and numerous factors played important roles in this
respect.
The Reformation emerged as a historical consequence from the interaction of many
complex cultural forces of Western history. Renaissance was an important factor in
creating a fertile soil for Reformation. The spirit of the time even when intending to
be hostile, proved friendly. The Renaissance that had raised the ancient classical
world from its grave, was not itself opposed to the Catholic Church, but the reason
it educated and the temperament it formed, the literature it produced and the
languages it loved, the imagination it cultivated and the new sense of beauty it
created, there were forces of subtle hostility to the system that had been built upon
the ruins of classical antiquity. 203
The renaissance leaders rejected many of the attitudes and ideas of the Middle
Ages. They emphasized people‘s responsibilities and duties to the society in which
they lived, rejecting the older beliefs of praying to God. Renaissance thinkers paid
more attention to the study of humanity than to theology. 204

202
Johan Herman Randall, Making of the Modern Mind (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1926), 143.
203
A. W. Ward, G.W. Prothero., Stanley Leathes, (ed.) The Cambridge Modern History,
vol:2 The Reformation ( London: Cambridge University Press,1902), 342
204
Lewis W. Spitz, The Renaissance and Reformation Movements (Chicago: Rand McNally
& Company, 1972) & Charles B. Schmitt, Quentin Skinner & Eckhard Kesssler (ed.), The
Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy, (NY: Cambridge University Press, 1988),
The Renaissance : Essays in Interpretation, (ed.) (New York: Methuen & Co. Ltd.), 34, 155,
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The invention of movable type in the mid 1400‘s helped to spread learning and an
increased number of people outside the clergy gained education during the
Renaissance. The study of scriptures allowed the people to know about the Church
in which changes had been made through centuries. 205 The scientific discoveries of
this period patently contradicted both the Bible and the teachings of the Church
further weakened papal and clerical authority.206
Reformation movement was the historical outcome of Renaissance, primarily
aimed at reviving the coalition of religion and politics which was characteristic of
the Middle Ages and weakened during the Renaissance period.207 To put an end to
the dominance of popes was among the major themes of Reformation. Individual
interpretation of the Bible was allowed and was used as the tool to express personal
opinion.208 In order to free the state from the influence and dominance of the
church, the term ‗divine right of the king‘ was introduced.209
The foundation stone for political authority and ‗divine right of king‘ was laid
down long before the Reformation. During the Renaissance, Dante raised voice for
the supreme authority of monarchs.210 Marsiglio of Padua, William of Ockham,
John Wycliffe and John Hus were also among early thinkers, who questioned the
absolute political realm of the Roman Catholic Church.
Marsiglio of Padua questioned the authority of the Pope and supported autonomous
political unit, and was of the view that law was ultimately derived from the people
or from the more influential of them rather than the church. He was one of the first
to raise the voice for secular government elected by the legislative authority. His
criticism of papacy and of canon law was corrosive. He was of the view that the
state is the source of law and its law has to be obeyed not only because it is the only
rule to be endowed with coercive power but because it is in itself the expression of
justice.211

305. & Marvin Perry, et‘al (ed.), Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics & Society, vol: 1
(Geneva: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989), 264-274.
205
Ibid. & De Lamar Jensen, Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation,
(Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1981), 7-37.
206
Ibid. & Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics & Society, 267-270.
207
Reformation created a new World order as Toby Huff has written that, ―The
Reformation claimed to replace a corrupt modern order by the true primitive order… It
proved to have many new elements, different in structure not only from those which had
prevailed in the Middle Ages, but also from those which had characterized the apostolic
community of the early church in Benjamin Nelson, ―Conscience and the Making of Early
Modern Cultures: Beyond Max Weber‖, in On the Roads to Modernity, ed. Toby E. Huff
(New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield, 1981), 75.
208
Johan Herman Randall,166.
209
Lawrence C. Wanlass, Gettel‟s History of Political Thought (London: George Allen &
Unwin LTD, 1924),157.
210
Ernest Bresiach, Renaissance: Europe 1300-1517 (New York: McMillan Publishing,
1973), 25. & Gettel‟s History of Political Thought, 127.
211
Vivian Hubert Howard Green, Renaissance and Reformation: A Survey of European
History Between 1450-1660 (London: Edward Arnold Publishing, 1974), 23.
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William of Ockham put theological questions deviating from earlier beliefs and
doctrines of Christianity. He emphasized the limitations of papal power and
developed the principle of political freedom and toleration. 212
By providing his countrymen with an English translation of the Bible, Wycliffe
enabled them to see for themselves the great differences between the simplicity of
early Christianity and the power and wealth of the church of the late middle ages.
He attacked the indulgences of popes and demanded that church property be seized
and managed by the secular governments. Supporting Marsiglio that the Church
was originally a community of equals, he denied the authority of the pope over all
Christendom and preached instead a religion of personal piety and the universal
priesthood of believers.213 He was known as the man who gave the concept of
bringing religion directly to the people and for this he translated the Bible. He
denounced the pope as antichrist and challenged a number of accepted beliefs. 214
John Hus was a follower of John Wycliffe and was burned to death due to his revolt
against the church. He was also of the view that the property of the Church must be
reduced and that the church has no right to own property. 215
Martin Luther of Germany (1483–1546), John Calvin of France (1509-1564) and
Ulrich Zwingli of Switzerland (1484-1531) were the main advocates of the
Reformation.216
Martin Luther was a German priest and the originator of the Reformation
movement. He declared that popes are the ones who corrupted the Church. 217 His
primary concern was the religious one and that he wanted to reform the society as a
whole only by preaching the gospel and making man aware of his ethical duties. 218
However, the dark side of his philosophy was that he considered man as wicked
and prone to sin.
―We are the children of wrath and all our works and intentions
and thoughts are nothing at all in balance against our sins… no
amount of good works could atone for the sins--each an insult to
an infinite deity--committed by the best of men. Only the
redeeming sacrifice of Christ--the suffering and the death of the
Son of the God--could atone for man‘s sins; and only belief in
that divine atonement can save us from hell. It is this faith, that
―justifies‖ –-makes a man just despite his sins and eligible for
salvation.‖219

212
Steven Ozment, The Age of Reforms 1250-1550 (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1980),18
213
Harold .J. Grimm, The Reformation Era 1500-1650, (New York: The Macmillan
Company, 1954), 43. & Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, “The Reformation: A History
of European Civilization from Wyclif to Calvin 1300 – 1564 (New York: Simon & Schuster,
1957), 11. & John H. Randall, 146.
214
V.H.H. Green, 20, & Will Durant, 11.
215
Will Durant, 14.
216
Vivian Hubert Howard Green, Steven Ozment, Will Durant, Harold .J. Grimm.
217
Ibid., 351.
218
Harold .J. Grimm, 90.
219
Will Durant, 373.
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He developed a new theology on the issue of Salvation. He arrived at the

conclusion that man is justified by faith alone, that God freely forgives sins,
without taking man‘s merits into consideration.220 This highly significant
interpretation, that grew out of Martin Luther‘s own experience and which he found
substantiated in the writings of St. Augustine, marked the turning point of his
career, and eventually brought him in conflict with the church. 221
Luther did not intend the gradual reform within the old faith but a fundamental
recasting of traditional doctrines and practices. Luther also revived the dark debates
and narrow theological interests of the middle ages. 222 For Luther, to endow man
with complete freedom of will in morality and religious matters ascribing truly
divine powers to him.223
He believed that the faith of a Christian had nothing to do with politics. The duty of
a Christian was simply to obey constituted authority. Turning to the princes, Luther
confirmed the righteousness of their power.224 He was not a political thinker and his
limited experiments in this field were best regarded as an attempt to accommodate
the political realities of his time. For consolidation of the Reformation movement,
the full support of German princes and magistrates was essential and his
confirmation in the righteousness of princes in their powers enabled him to get that
support.225 He had drawn a distinction between the spiritual and the worldly
government of society. According to his theory, God‘s worldly government is
effected through kings, princes and magistrates through the use of the sword and
the civil law. Popes have no authority concerning the affairs of the world. 226
Following points can be identified that underlie Luther‘s confused political
theology:
 Christian ethics is grounded in the doctrine of justification by faith alone
 All Christians have a civic and social responsibility to perform. Some
Christians may discharge these responsibilities by holding public office
 The state has been divinely ordained to achieve certain purposes, which
the church can not and should not attempt to achieve. In other words, their
spheres of influence and authority are different and must not be confused
 God rules the church through Gospel but is obliged to rule the sinful world
through law, wisdom, natural law and coercion227

220
Ozment, 375.
221
Grimm, 91.
222
Ozment, 1250-1550, 292.
223
Ibid.,301.
224
Lutheran Reformation resulted in an alliance of state and church in which former was
subservient to the latter. In effect, therefore Lutheranism, made a total surrender of the
practical life of the individual to the state control. J. Bronowski, The Western Intellectual
Tradition (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1960,) 89.
225
Alister E. McGrath, Reformation Thought: an Introduction (Oxford, UK; Cambridge,
MA: B, Blackwell, 1988), 146.
226
Ibid., 142.
227
Ibid., 145-146.
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Luther‘s political theory clearly supported the monarchy. 228As Machiavelli freed
the state from the consideration of moral law, Luther likewise freed it from control
of the Church. Is it not the duty of the state, he argued, to check and control all
forms of domination injuring the welfare of the people? Thus he won the sympathy
of the multitude by his stern attitude to capitalism, luxury and immorality. 229 In
Luther‘s words, ―neither Pope, nor Bishop, nor any man has a right to dictate even
a syllable to the Christian without his own consent; any other course is pure
tyranny.‖230
John Calvin, who belonged to Geneva, was the founder of the Reformation
movement in France and other European countries. John Calvin adopted austerity
against extravagance in dress and entertainment. Drama, art and drunkenness were
censored.231
For him, the Church and state were both divine and designed by God to work in
harmony as the soul and body of one Christian society. The Church should regulate
all details of faith, worship and morals. The state as the physical arm of the church
should enforce these regulations. The ideal government would be a theocracy and
the reformed church should be recognized as the voice of God. All the claims of the
popes for supremacy of the church over the state were renewed by Calvin. 232
Ulrich Zwingli also contributed to the reformation. He believed that ultimate
ecclesiastical authority is the Christian community and the local assembly of
believers under the sole lordship of Christ and the divinely inspired scriptures that
bear witness to redemption through him. This authority is exercised on behalf of the
community through the duly constituted organs of civil government acting in
accordance with the scriptures. Only that which Bible commands or for which
distinct authorization can be found in its pages is binding or allowable. 233
Zwingli formulated his doctrine while agreeing with Martin Luther that man can
earn salvation by good works, but must believe in redeeming efficacy of Christ‘s
sacrificial death.234 He also laid great emphasis upon providing the people with the
Bible in their native language.235Zwingli identified the word of God with the
scriptures when he held to be inspired and infallible. The word of god is certain and
cannot fail; it makes itself plain and illumines the human soul with all salvation. 236
He ordered that marital matters which were previously settled by a special court

228
Ibid., 145-146. & John H. Randall, 182.
229
R. H. Murray, The Political Consequences of the Reformation Studies in Sixteenth
Century Political Thought (Ernest Benn Limited, 1926)
230
Ibid., 58.
231
Vivian H.H. Green, 175-176. & Williston Walker, Richard A Norris, David W. Lotz,
Robert t. Handy, History of the Christian Church (New York: Charles Scribner‘s Sons,
1958), 470-481.
232
Will Durant, 465.
233
History of the Christian Church, 443
234
Will Durant, 408.
235
Harold J. Grimm, 189.
236
V. H. H. Green, 164.
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under the administration of the church, be transferred to civil court consisting of

representatives of both state and Church. Gradually all matters concerning private
morals were referred to this court.237
He was more interested in political reforms than religious reforms. The ideas of
Zwingli were put into legal reforms in Switzerland. Accordingly, he upheld the
right of the community to regulate its religious as well as civil life. In this way,
Church and state were merged into a single system controlled by its political
agencies. Zwingli believed that he was God‘s prophet for spreading the faith, and
was prepared to use political means for carrying out the divine will in Zurich and
whole of Switzerland.238
All these reformers grounded the authority of scripture in its relation to the words
of God. The reformers insisted that the authority of popes must be subordinate to
the scripture. Luther declared that the distinction between the spiritual and temporal
powers must be abolished and every believing Christian must have the right to
interpret the scripture. He said:
―Their claim that only the pope may interpret scripture is an
outrageous ancient fable. The Romanists must admit that there
are many among us good spirit, understanding word, and mind of
Christ. Why then should we reject the word and understanding of
good Christians and follow the pope, who has neither faith nor
the spirit‖239.
Reformation movement with its different objectives, worked at three levels. The
first was the purely religious one. For Luther, this meant that everyone had to
decide in his own conscience how the words of God should be read. The second
level was the revolt against the splendor with which papacy had come to surround
itself. And the third level was the development of political and social ideas. 240
The impact of the Reformation movement was manifold. Europe was divided
religiously. The division of the Western Christendom into several churches was the
foremost consequence of the Reformation. The centrality of the Catholic Church
was destroyed, and the universal Church gave way to national churches. 241 While
the political authorities precluded the formal recognition of more than one church,
the existence of several religious perspectives (bitterly opposing one another)
surely curtailed the public as well as private significance of religion in Europe. 242
In the words of Bronowski, ―It gave to Europe as a result of the religious wars
which stemmed from it, the political shape which more or less, has kept ever since.
And it supplied the European mind with a new ethos, a whole new sensibility and a
stock of novel political, social and economic ideas.‖ 243 Concluding the discussion
on Reformation Will Durant is of the opinion that, ―The reformation rendered two

237
Harold. J. Grimm 189.
238
Ibid., 206.
239
McGrath, 111.
240
J. Bronowski, 85-86.
241
J. Bronowski, 87. & John Herman Randall, 165.
242
Will Durant, 938
243
J. Bronowski,76.
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services to the Enlightenment: it broke the authority of the dogma, generated a

hundreds sects that would formerly have died at the stake and allowed among them
such virile debate that reason was finally recognized as the bar before which all
sects had to plead their cause unless they were armed with irresistible physical
force. In that pleading, that attack and defense, all sects were weakened, all the
dogmas; and a century after Luther exaltation of faith Francis Bacon proclaimed
that knowledge is power. In that same 17th century thinkers like Descartes,
Hobbes, Spinoza and Locke offered philosophy as a substitute or basis for religion.
In the eighteenth century Helvetius Hollbach proclaimed open atheism, and
Voltaire was called a bigot because he believed in God. This was the challenge that
Christianity failed in a crisis far more profound than the debate between the
Catholic and the Protestant version of the medieval creed.‖244
The exercise of political authority in the realm of religion was more firmly
established at the end of the sixteenth century than it had been at the beginning. The
support provided by Luther to the princes resulted in an alliance of church and state
in which the former was subservient to the latter. 245 Therefore, Luther made a total
surrender of the practical life of the individual to the state control. Luther himself
declared, ―Our teachings have accorded to secular sovereignty the plentitude of the
rights and powers and thus doing what the popes have never done nor wanted to
do.‖246
The political theology of Martin Luther was clearly about religious freedom.
According to him ethics is grounded in the doctrine of justification by faith alone,
the state has been divinely ordained to achieve certain purposes, which the church
cannot and should not attempt to achieve. In other words, their spheres of authority
are different and must not be confused.247
The fundamental doctrine of the Reformation movement led to the growth of
marked individualism which resulted in grave social, political, and economic
conflicts. It led ultimately to the growth of individual liberty and democracy. The
reformers preached the equality of man to follow his conscience and to attain
salvation in his own way. This individual freedom from a religious point of view
had its political repercussions too and led to the growth of democracy. 248 Salvation
was sought outside the church. Priesthood was made unnecessary in finding
supreme authority in Bible249 and the rational interpretation of the scripture was
allowed.
Reformation broke down the authority of universal church and political tyranny
was promoted by Luther which ultimately led to nationalism. In the next upcoming
events, thirty years war and religious wars helped to define the future political
shape of Europe on the basis of independent and sovereign nation states. 250
Toleration and the recognition of the authority of the individual reason and

244
Will Durant, 939.
245
J. Bronowski, 89.
246
Ibid., 89.
247
Alister E. McGrath, 145-146.
248
The Reformation Era 1500-1650, 124.
249
J. Bronowski, 90.
250
Ibid., 106.
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conscience did spring from the Reformation. It fostered both political and economic
individualism and allowed greater freedom of interpretation of the faith and,
perhaps because of this, it helped the slow drift from religious to secular
individualism.251
Finally, Reformation, while adding nothing to the content of education, contributed
greatly to its spread. It led Europe to learning and in fostering the new science.
Leiden in Holland and Geneva University are the products of Reformation. 252
Reformation was a step forward towards modern times. Martin Luther laid down
the foundations of ethos of modernity, ―Reformation was a movement which
originated in a desire to purge a unified church torn asunder and divided against
itself existing a new world…Martin Luther and his followers, intending return to
the old , helped to create a new world, a new world not so much in space as in time-
-----the world of modern times.‖253

251
Ibid & Vivian H.H Green, 124.
252
John Herman Randall, 169.
253
J. Bronowski, 106.
78