The Protestant Reformation, Religious Unity, and Calvinism...

Introduction The Protestant Reformation of the Catholic Church devastated the religious unity of Christian Europe, resulting in a great deal of antagonism, which in turn led to the persecutions, denial of civil rights, expulsion, and ultimately the torture and death of many men, women and children. The ongoing conflict was not consigned to one distinct European nation, but was experienced in every European nation that the Catholic Church ruled and reigned. There was no worldview in Europe at that time that allowed for the religious differences of men to coexist peaceably. As quoted by McGrath in his book, French Protestantism to the Present Day. From Britain in the west to Hungary and Poland in the east, thousands of towns and†¦show more content†¦In October of 1534, the Affair of the Placard occurred, what made this event of great importance, was that it was a planned, written Protestant attack on the Catholic doctrine of Mass. These posters, which condemned the practice of Mass, also appeared just about simultaneously in several major cities of France overnight to include Paris, where Calvin lived. Francis I, retaliated harshly and swiftly possibly, because of the recent treaty that he had signed with Spain to end the Thirty Year War. Francis, possible to ensure his loyalty toward the Pope and the treaty arrested and executed the Protestants whom were responsible. Calvin like many other fearing for their safety left France, Calvin choosing to escape to Switzerland. Reforming Christianity When Calvin arrived in Geneva, William Farel saw in Calvin the leader that Geneva needed â€Å"and he urged the young scholar to go no farther but to stay in the city and help establish the work there† (Shelley, 2008, 256) . Calvins patronage from Geneva helped with the growth and development of the French Protestant movement in the 1550s. Calvin trained French Protestant pastors at the Geneva Academy, and helped to smuggle them back into France to establish and develop local congregations. It was also during this time he wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion, in 1536, that put into words theShow MoreRelatedThe Protestant Reformation And The Reformation916 Words   |  4 PagesThe Protestant Reformation took place in the 16th century and was a major European movement whose goal was to reform the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This movement led to people worshipping God as they wanted and no longer relying on the Catholic Church for guidance with re ligious matters. Even though people were doing what they believed, the Protestant Reformation brought many conflicts. Religious disagreements caused bloody conflicts all over Europe. 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