Loss and Gain of the Reformation Essay

During and following the Protestant Reformation, an innumerable measure of dignitaries lost, as well as gained a great deal due to the Reformation. Dignitaries or authority figures during this time period consisted of highly ranked members of the Church and Government. As a result of this 16th century movement, both were affected negatively and positively. The authority figure that lost the most was the Pope. It was established that the Bible held more authority than the Church in the 1400’s by John Wycliffe of England and Jan Hus of Bohemia. Furthermore, they taught that the pope did not have the right to worldly power. At the start of the Reformation, many political leaders questioned his control and power. New ideas from the Renaissance had begun to challenge the Catholic Church. Individualism and secularism went against the Church’s beliefs. Not only did the pope lose all of his power, but the other church leaders did as well. When people didn’t believe in what the pope did, they founded new Christian churches that went against the pope’s decisions and wrongdoings. Consequently, the Pope and the rest of the catholic church’s leaders lost their authority and wealth. Just as the Catholic Church and the Pope lost a substantial amount of power and authority, the King and the Protestants gained what they lost. Since most people had nearly forgotten about Catholicism by now and reverted to Protestantism, the Protestant Church gained a lot of money through donations to reform the church past what had already been changed. Since the pope no longer ruled, it was left to the king to do what the pope no longer could. The king took control over the churches and established new churches, which they also regulated. Accordingly, the king gained the most out of the Reformation. As a result of the Reformation, the pope lost all of his power and the king gained it. There are vast differences from the beginning of the Reformation to its conclusion. If you were to look at the two periods in time, you would be able to tell how to pope went corrupt and how the king gained respect and held power over the churches.