Protestant Reformation

The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a movement within in the sixteenth-century  that posed a religious and political challenge to the  and  in particular. Although the Reformation is usually considered to have started with the publication of the  by in 1517, there was no  between the Catholic Church and the nascent Luther until the 1521. The edict condemned Luther and officially banned citizens of the from defending or propagating his ideas. The end of the Reformation era is disputed: it could be considered to end with the enactment of the which began the Age of Orthodoxy. Other suggested ending years relate to the, the , or that it never ended since there are still today.

Movements had been made towards a Reformation prior to Luther, so some Protestants in the tradition of the prefer to credit the start of the Reformation to reformers such as, , , , , and. Due to the reform efforts of Hus and other,  was  by the  and was  in the , although other movements were still subject to persecution, including the  in England and the  in France and Italian regions.

Luther began by criticising the sale of, insisting that the had no authority over  and that the  had no foundation in the. The Reformation developed further to include a distinction between, a complete reliance on Scripture as the only source of proper doctrine (') and the belief that in  is the only way to receive God's pardon for sin (') rather than good works. Although this is generally considered a Protestant belief, a similar formulation was taught by and  Catholics. The downplayed the need for saints or priests to serve as mediators, and mandatory  was ended.  implied that although people could improve, no one could become good enough to earn forgiveness from God. Sacramental theology was simplified and attempts at imposing Aristotelian epistemology were resisted.

Luther and his followers did not see these theological developments as changes. The 1530 ' concluded that "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Church Catholic", and even after the Council of Trent, published the 1565–73 ' as an attempt to prove that Trent innovated on doctrine while the Lutherans were following in the footsteps of the Church Fathers and Apostles.

The initial movement in Germany diversified, and other reformers arose independently of Luther such as in  and John  in. Depending on the country, the Reformation had varying causes and different backgrounds, and also unfolded differently than in Germany. The spread of  provided the means for the rapid dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular.

During Reformation-era, Western Christianity adopted different confessions (, , , , , , etc.). Radical Reformers, besides forming communities outside, sometimes employed more extreme doctrinal change, such as the rejection of the of the councils of  and  with the Unitarians of. movements were especially persecuted following the.

Leaders within the Roman Catholic Church responded with the, initiated by the ' in 1530, the ' in 1545, the in 1540, the  in 1578, and also a series of wars and expulsions of Protestants that continued until the 19th century. , with the exception of most of, came under the influence of Protestantism. remained predominantly Catholic apart from the much-persecuted. was the site of much of the and there were continued expulsions of Protestants in Central Europe up to the 19th century. Following World War II, the removal of ethnic Germans to either East Germany or Siberia reduced Protestantism in the countries, although some remain today.

Absence of Protestants however, does not necessarily imply a failure of the Reformation. Although Protestants were excommunicated and ended up worshiping in communions separate from Catholics, contrary to the original intention of the Reformers, they were also suppressed and persecuted in most of Europe at one point. As a result, some of them lived as, also called s, contrary to the urging of John Calvin, who wanted them to live their faith openly. Some have been identified as late as the 19th century after immigrating to Latin America.

Earlier reform movements
The oldest Protestant churches, such as the and, date their origins to  (John Huss) in the early 15th century. As it was led by a Bohemian noble majority, and recognised, for a time, by the Basel Compacts, the Hussite Reformation was Europe's first "" because the ruling magistrates supported it, unlike the "", which the state did not support.

Common factors that played a role during the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation included the rise of, , the appointment of s, and other corruption of the and other ecclesiastical hierarchy, the impact of , the new learning of the , the epistemological shift between the schola moderna and schola antiqua within , and the  that eroded loyalty to the. Unrest due to the (1378–1416) excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, especially from  at  and from  at the.

Hus objected to some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and wanted to return the church in and  to earlier practices:  in the language of the people (i.e. Czech), having lay people receive  in both kinds (bread and wine—that is, in Latin, ), married priests, and eliminating  and the concept of. Some of these, like the use of local language as the liturgical language, were approved by the pope as early as in the 9th century. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of.

The leaders of the Roman Catholic Church condemned him at the (1414–1417) by burning him at the stake despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428. The Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the previous century and could not prevent and the  in Bohemia.

(1471–1484) established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, thereby establishing a new stream of revenue with agents across Europe. (1492–1503) was one of the most controversial of the popes. He was the father of seven children, including and. In response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses.

A number of theologians in the preached reformation ideas in the 1510s, shortly before or simultaneously with Luther, including  in  (as early as 1513).

Magisterial Reformation
The Reformation is usually dated to 31 October 1517 in, , when Luther sent his  to the. The theses debated and criticized the Church and the papacy, but concentrated upon the selling of indulgences and doctrinal policies about, , and the authority of the pope. He would later in the period 1517–1521 write works on devotion to, the intercession of and devotion to the saints, the sacraments, mandatory clerical celibacy, further on the authority of the pope, the ecclesiastical law, censure and excommunication, the role of secular rulers in religious matters, the relationship between Christianity and the law, , and monasticism. Some nuns left the monastic life when they accepted the Reformation, such as and, but other orders adopted the Reformation, as Lutherans continue to have. In contrast, Reformed areas typically secularized monastic property.

Reformers and their opponents made heavy use of inexpensive pamphlets as well as vernacular Bibles using the relatively new printing press, so there was swift movement of both ideas and documents. printed pedagogical writings for teaching children Bible stories.

Parallel to events in Germany, a movement began in under the leadership of. These two movements quickly agreed on most issues, but some unresolved differences kept them separate. Some followers of Zwingli believed that the Reformation was too conservative, and moved independently toward more radical positions, some of which survive among modern day s.

After this first stage of the Reformation, following the of Luther in  and the condemnation of his followers by the edicts of the 1521 Diet of Worms, the work and writings of  were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various churches in Switzerland,, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere.

Although the of 1524–1525 began as a tax and anti-corruption protest as reflected in the, its leader  gave it a radical Reformation character. It swept through the Bavarian, n and n principalities, including the of, a knight from  who joined the peasants in the general outrage against the Catholic hierarchy. In response to reports about the destruction and violence, Luther condemned the revolt in writings such as ; Zwingli and Luther's ally also did not condone the uprising. Some 100,000 peasants were killed by the end of the war.

Radical Reformation
The Radical Reformation was the response to what was believed to be the corruption in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformation. Beginning in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th century, the Radical Reformation developed radical Protestant churches throughout. The term includes, , the , and like the s and s.

In parts of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, a majority sympathized with the Radical Reformation despite intense persecution. Although the surviving proportion of the European population that rebelled against Catholic, and  churches was small, Radical Reformers wrote profusely and the literature on the Radical Reformation is disproportionately large, partly as a result of the proliferation of the Radical Reformation teachings in the.

Despite significant diversity among the early Radical Reformers, some "repeating patterns," emerged among many Anabaptist groups. Many of these patterns were enshrined in the, and include , memorial view of the , belief that Scripture is the final authority on matters of faith and practice, emphasis on the and the , interpretation of Scripture in community, separation from the world and a ,  and ,  and economic sharing, belief in the freedom of the will, non-swearing of oaths, "yieldedness" (Gelassenheit) to one's community and to God, the , salvation through divinization (Vergöttung) and ethical living, and discipleship (Nachfolge Christi).

Literacy
The Reformation was a triumph of literacy and the new printing press. into German was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy, and stimulated as well the printing and distribution of religious books and pamphlets. From 1517 onward, religious pamphlets flooded Germany and much of Europe.

By 1530, over 10,000 publications are known, with a total of ten million copies. The Reformation was thus a media revolution. Luther strengthened his attacks on Rome by depicting a "good" against "bad" church. From there, it became clear that print could be used for propaganda in the Reformation for particular agendas, although the term propaganda derives from the Catholic  (Congregation for Propagating the Faith) from the Counter-Reformation. Reform writers used existing styles, cliches and stereotypes which they adapted as needed. Especially effective were writings in German, including Luther's translation of the Bible, his for parents teaching their children, and his, for pastors.

Using the German vernacular they expressed the Apostles' Creed in simpler, more personal, Trinitarian language. Illustrations in the German Bible and in many tracts popularized Luther's ideas. (1472–1553), the great painter patronized by the electors of Wittenberg, was a close friend of Luther, and he illustrated Luther's theology for a popular audience. He dramatized Luther's views on the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, while remaining mindful of Luther's careful distinctions about proper and improper uses of visual imagery.

Causes of the Reformation
The following factors have been identified as causes of the Reformation:
 * The presence of a in a city by 1500 made Protestant adoption by 1600 far more likely.
 * Protestant literature was produced at greater levels in cities where media markets were more competitive, making these cities more likely to adopt Protestantism.
 * Ottoman incursions decreased conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, helping the Reformation take root.
 * Greater political autonomy increased the likelihood that Protestantism would be adopted.
 * Where Protestant reformers enjoyed princely patronage, they were much more likely to succeed.
 * Proximity to neighbors who adopted Protestantism increased the likelihood of adopting Protestantism.
 * Cities that had higher numbers of students enrolled in heterodox universities and lower numbers enrolled in orthodox universities were more likely to adopt Protestantism.

The following demand-side factors have been identified as causes of the Reformation:
 * Cities with strong cults of saints were less likely to adopt Protestantism.
 * Cities where was practiced were less likely to adopt Protestantism.
 * Regions that were poor but had great economic potential and bad political institutions were more likely to adopt Protestantism.
 * The presence of bishoprics made the adoption of Protestantism less likely.
 * The presence of monasteries made the adoption of Protestantism less likely.

Reformation in Germany
In 1517, Luther nailed the Ninety-five theses to the Castle Church door, and without his knowledge or prior approval, they were copied and printed across Germany and internationally. Different reformers arose more or less independently of Luther in 1518 (for example, , , and ), 1519 (for example , , ) and so on.

After the (1518) where Luther described the  as opposed to the Theology of Glory and the  (1519), the faith issues were brought to the attention of other German theologians throughout the Empire. Each year drew new theologians to embrace the Reformation and participate in the ongoing, European-wide discussion about faith. The pace of the Reformation proved unstoppable already by 1520.

The early Reformation in Germany mostly concerns the life of Martin Luther until he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X on 3 January 1521, in the bull . The exact moment realized the key doctrine of  is described in German as the . In, Luther describes it as a sudden realization. Experts often speak of a gradual process of realization between 1514 and 1518.

Reformation ideas and Protestant church services were first introduced in cities, being supported by local citizens and also some nobles. The Reformation did not receive overt state support until 1525, although it was only due to the protection of Elector who had a strange dream the night prior to October 31, 1517 that Luther survived after being declared an outlaw, both in hiding  and afterward his. It was more of a movement among the German people between 1517 and 1525, and then also a political one beginning in 1525. Reformer was burned at the stake near Cologne in 1529.

The first state to formally adopt a confession was the  (1525). formally declared the "Evangelical" faith to be the. Catholics self-identified Evangelicals "Lutherans" in order to discredit them after the practice of naming a heresy after its founder. Ducal Prussia was followed by many and other minor. The next sizable territories were the (1526; at the ) and the  (1527; Luther's homeland),  (1530s) and the  (1534). For a more complete list, see the and the table of the. The reformation wave swept first the, and then extended beyond it to the rest of the European continent.

Germany was home to the greatest number of. Each state which turned Protestant had their own reformers who contributed towards the Evangelical faith. In the  was organized and served as an example for other states, although Luther was not dogmatic on questions of polity.

Reformation outside Germany
The Reformation also spread widely throughout Europe, starting with Bohemia, in the Czech lands, and, over the next few decades, to other countries.

Austria
Austria followed the same pattern of the states within the, and Lutheranism became the main Protestant confession among its population. gained a significant following in Austria which was concentrated in the eastern half of present-day Austria, while was less successful. Eventually the expulsions of the reversed the trend.

Czech Lands
The were a Christian movement in the  following the teachings of Czech reformer.

Jan Hus
Czech reformer and university professor (c. 1369–1415) became the best-known representative of the Bohemian Reformation and one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation.

Jan Hus was declared heretic and executed—burned at stake—at the in 1415 where he arrived voluntarily to defend his teachings.

Hussite movement
This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened Czech national awareness. In 1417, two years after the execution of Jan Hus, the Czech reformation quickly became the chief force in the country.

made up the vast majority of the population, forcing the Council of Basel to recognize in 1437 a system of two "religions" for the first time signing the for the kingdom (Catholic and Czech, a Hussite movement). Bohemia later also elected two Protestant kings.

After took control of the region, the Hussite churches were prohibited and the kingdom partially recatholicized. Even later gained a substantial following, after being permitted by the Habsburgs with the continued persecution of the Czech native Hussite churches. Many Hussites thus declared themselves Lutherans.

Two churches with Hussite roots are now second and third biggest churches in the predominantly agnostic country: (which gave origin to the international church known as the ) and.

Switzerland
In Switzerland, the teachings of the reformers and especially those of Zwingli and Calvin had a profound effect, despite the frequent quarrels between the different branches of the Reformation.

Huldrych Zwingli
Parallel to events in Germany, a movement began in the under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli. Zwingli was a scholar and preacher who moved to —the then-leading city state—in 1518, a year after Martin Luther began the Reformation in Germany with his. Although the two movements agreed on many issues of theology, as the recently introduced spread ideas rapidly from place to place, some unresolved differences kept them separate. Long-standing resentment between the German states and the Swiss Confederation led to heated debate over how much Zwingli owed his ideas to Lutheranism. Although does hold uncanny resemblance to Lutheranism (it even had its own equivalent of the Ninety-five Theses, called the 67 Conclusions), historians have been unable to prove that Zwingli had any contact with Luther's publications before 1520, and Zwingli himself maintained that he had prevented himself from reading them.

The German Prince saw potential in creating an alliance between Zwingli and Luther, seeing strength in a united Protestant front. A meeting was held in his castle in 1529, now known as the, which has become infamous for its complete failure. The two men could not come to any agreement due to their disputation over one key doctrine. Although Luther preached in the  over, he believed in the  at the Mass. Zwingli, inspired by Dutch theologian, believed that the mass was only representative and memorial—Christ was not present. Luther became so angry that he famously carved into the meeting table in chalk Hoc Est Corpus Meum—a Biblical quotation from the meaning 'This is my body'. Zwingli countered this saying that est in that context was the equivalent of the word significant (signifies).

Some followers of Zwingli believed that the Reformation was too conservative and moved independently toward more radical positions, some of which survive among modern day s. One famous incident illustrating this was when radical Zwinglians fried and ate sausages during Lent in Zurich city square by way of protest against the Church teaching of. Other Protestant movements grew up along the lines of mysticism or humanism (cf. and  who was martyred in 1529), sometimes breaking from Rome or from the Protestants, or forming outside of the churches.

John Calvin
Following the of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the Pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various churches in Switzerland,, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. After the expulsion of its Bishop in 1526, and the unsuccessful attempts of the Berne reformer, Calvin was asked to use the organisational skill he had gathered as a student of law to discipline the "fallen city" of Geneva. His "Ordinances" of 1541 involved a collaboration of Church affairs with the City council and to bring morality to all areas of life. After the establishment of the Geneva academy in 1559, Geneva became the unofficial capital of the Protestant movement, providing refuge for Protestant exiles from all over Europe and educating them as Calvinist missionaries. These missionaries dispersed Calvinism widely, and formed the French in Calvin's own lifetime and spread to Scotland under the leadership of the cantankerous  in 1560. translated some of Calvin's writings to English around this time. The faith continued to spread after Calvin's death in 1563 and reached as far as Constantinople by the start of the 17th century.

The Reformation foundations engaged with. Both Luther and Calvin thought along lines linked with the theological teachings of. The Augustinianism of the Reformers struggled against, a heresy that they perceived in the Catholic Church of their day. Ultimately, since Calvin and Luther disagreed strongly on certain matters of theology (such as double-predestination and Holy Communion), the relationship between Lutherans and Calvinists was one of conflict.

Nordic countries

 * See also:, , , 

All of ultimately adopted Lutheranism over the course of the 16th century, as the monarchs of  (who also ruled  and ) and  (who also ruled ) converted to that faith.

Sweden
In Sweden, the Reformation was spearheaded by, elected king in 1523. Friction with the pope over the latter's interference in Swedish ecclesiastical affairs led to the discontinuance of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy from 1523. Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås, the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church property, church appointments required royal approval, the clergy were subject to the civil law, and the "pure Word of God" was to be preached in the churches and taught in the schools—effectively granting official sanction to Lutheran ideas. The was retained in Sweden during the Reformation.

Denmark
Under the reign of (1523–33), Denmark remained officially Catholic. But though Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he soon adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, of whom the most famous was. During his reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads among the Danish population. Frederick's son, Christian, was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death. In 1536, the authority of the Catholic bishops was terminated by national assembly. The next year, following his victory in the, he became king as and continued the  with assistance of.

Iceland
's influence had already reached before King Christian's decree. The fished near Iceland's coast, and the  engaged in commerce with the Icelanders. These Germans raised a Lutheran church in as early as 1533. Through German trade connections, many young studied in. In 1538, when the kingly decree of the new Church ordinance reached Iceland, bishop and his clergy denounced it, threatening excommunication for anyone subscribing to the German 'heresy'. In 1539, the King sent a new governor to Iceland,, with a mandate to introduce reform and take possession of church property. Von Mervitz seized a monastery in with the help of his sheriff,, and his soldiers. They drove the monks out and seized all their possessions, for which they were promptly excommunicated by Ögmundur.

Church of England
The separation of the Church of England from Rome under, beginning in 1529 and completed in 1537 brought England alongside this broad Reformation movement. Although attempted to get Henry VIII to adopt Lutheran theology, he refused to do so in 1538 and burned him at the stake in 1540. Reformers in the Church of England alternated, for decades, between sympathies between Catholic tradition and Reformed principles, gradually developing within the context of robustly Protestant doctrine, a tradition considered a middle way () between the Catholic and Protestant traditions.

The English Reformation followed a different course from the Reformation in continental Europe. There had long been a strong strain of. England had already given rise to the movement of, which played an important part in inspiring the s in. Lollardy was suppressed and became an underground movement, so the extent of its influence in the 1520s is difficult to assess. The different character of the English Reformation came rather from the fact that it was driven initially by the political necessities of Henry VIII.

Henry had once been a sincere Catholic and had even authored a book strongly criticizing Luther. His wife,, bore him only a single child that survived infancy,. Henry strongly wanted a male heir, and many of his subjects might have agreed, if only because they wanted to avoid another dynastic conflict like the.

King Henry decided to remove the Church of England from the authority of Rome. In 1534, the recognized Henry as "the only  on earth of the Church of England". Between 1535 and 1540, under, the policy known as the was put into effect. The veneration of some s, certain pilgrimages and some pilgrim shrines were also attacked. Huge amounts of church land and property passed into the hands of the Crown and ultimately into those of the nobility and gentry. The vested interest thus created made for a powerful force in support of the dissolution.

There were some notable opponents to the Henrician Reformation, such as and Cardinal, who were executed for their opposition. There was also a growing party of reformers who were imbued with the Calvinistic, Lutheran and Zwinglian doctrines now current on the Continent. When Henry died he was succeeded by his Protestant son, who, through his empowered councilors (with the King being only nine years old at his succession and fifteen at his death) the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of Northumberland, ordered the destruction of images in churches, and the closing of the. Under Edward VI the moved closer to continental Protestantism.

Yet, at a popular level, religion in England was still in a state of flux. Following a brief Catholic restoration during the reign of Mary (1553–1558), a loose consensus developed during the reign of, though this point is one of considerable debate among historians. This "" largely formed into a distinctive church tradition. The compromise was uneasy and was capable of veering between extreme on one hand and Catholicism on the other. But compared to the bloody and chaotic state of affairs in contemporary France, it was relatively successful, in part because Queen Elizabeth lived so long, until the Puritan Revolution or in the 17th century.

English dissenters
The success of the on the Continent and the growth of a Puritan party dedicated to further Protestant reform polarized the, although it was not until the 1640s that England underwent religious strife comparable to what its neighbors had suffered some generations before.

The early Puritan movement (late 16th–17th centuries) was Reformed (or ) and was a movement for reform in the. Its origins lay in the discontent with the. The desire was for the Church of England to resemble more closely the Protestant churches of Europe, especially. The Puritans objected to ornaments and ritual in the churches as (vestments, surplices, organs, genuflection), which they castigated as " pomp and rags". (See .) They also objected to ecclesiastical courts. Their refusal to endorse completely all of the ritual directions and formulas of the  and the imposition of its liturgical order by legal force and inspection sharpened Puritanism into a definite opposition movement.

The later Puritan movement, often referred to as and s, eventually led to the formation of various.

The most famous emigration to America was the migration of Puritan separatists from the Anglican Church of England. They fled first to Holland, and then later to America to establish the English in New England, which later became one of the original United States. These Puritan separatists were also known as "the ". After establishing a colony at (which became part of the colony of Massachusetts) in 1620, the Puritan pilgrims received a charter from the  that legitimized their colony, allowing them to do trade and commerce with merchants in England, in accordance with the principles of. The Puritans persecuted those of other religious faiths, for example, was banished to Rhode Island during the. was hanged in Boston for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony. She was one of the four executed Quakers known as the. Executions ceased in 1661 when explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. In 1647, Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting any priests from entering territory under Puritan jurisdiction. Any suspected person who could not clear himself was to be banished from the colony; a second offense carried a death penalty.

The Pilgrims held radical Protestant disapproval of, and its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. The ban was revoked in 1681 by the English-appointed governor, who also revoked a Puritan ban on festivities on Saturday nights. Nevertheless, it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.

Wales
Bishop and dissident Protestant cleric  introduced Calvinist theology to Wales. In 1588, the Bishop of Llandaff published the entire Bible in the. The translation had a significant impact upon the Welsh population and helped to firmly establish Protestantism among the. The Welsh Protestants used the model of the of 1618–1619. Calvinism developed through the Puritan period, following the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, and within Wales' movement. However few copies of Calvin's writings were available before mid-19th century.

Scotland
The Reformation in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the establishment of a church along lines, and politically in the triumph of English influence over that of France. is regarded as the leader of the Scottish reformation.

The of 1560 repudiated the pope's authority by the, forbade the celebration of the  and approved a. It was made possible by a revolution against French hegemony under the regime of the, who had governed Scotland in the name of her absent daughter  (then also  of France).

Although Protestantism triumphed relatively easily in Scotland, the exact form of Protestantism remained to be determined. The 17th century saw a complex struggle between (particularly the s) and. The Presbyterians eventually won control of the, which went on to have an important influence on Presbyterian churches worldwide, but Scotland retained a relatively large.

France
Besides the Waldensians already present in France, Protestantism also spread in from German lands, where the Protestants were nicknamed ; this eventually led to decades of civil warfare.

Though not personally interested in religious reform, (reigned 1515–1547) initially maintained an attitude of tolerance, in accordance with his interest in the  movement. This changed in 1534 with the. In this act, Protestants denounced the in placards that appeared across France, even reaching the royal apartments. During this time as the issue of religious faith entered into the arena of politics, Francis came to view the movement as a threat to the kingdom's stability.

Following the Affair of the Placards, culprits were rounded up, at least a dozen heretics were put to death, and the persecution of Protestants increased. One of those who fled France at that time was John Calvin, who emigrated to Basel in 1535 before eventually settling in Geneva in 1536. Beyond the reach of the French kings in Geneva, Calvin continued to take an interest in the religious affairs of his native land including the training of ministers for congregations in France.

As the number of Protestants in France increased, the number of heretics in prisons awaiting trial also grew. As an experimental approach to reduce the caseload in Normandy, a special court just for the trial of heretics was established in 1545 in the. When took the throne in 1547, the persecution of Protestants grew and special courts for the trial of heretics were also established in the Parlement de Paris. These courts came to known as ("the fiery chamber") because of their reputation of meting out death penalties on burning gallows.

Despite heavy persecution by Henry II, the, largely in direction, made steady progress across large sections of the nation, in the urban  and parts of the , appealing to people alienated by the obduracy and the complacency of the Catholic establishment.

French Protestantism, though its appeal increased under persecution, came to acquire a distinctly political character, made all the more obvious by the conversions of nobles during the 1550s. This established the preconditions for a series of destructive and intermittent conflicts, known as the. The civil wars gained impetus with the sudden death of in 1559, which began a prolonged period of weakness for the French crown. and outrage became the defining characteristics of the time, illustrated at their most intense in the of August 1572, when the Catholic party killed between 30,000 and 100,000 Huguenots across France. The wars only concluded when, himself a former Huguenot, issued the (1598), promising official toleration of the Protestant minority, but under highly restricted conditions. Catholicism remained the official state religion, and the fortunes of French Protestants gradually declined over the next century, culminating in Louis XIV's (1685), which revoked the Edict of Nantes and made Catholicism the sole legal religion of France, leading some Huguenots to live as s. In response to the Edict of Fontainebleau,  declared the  (October 1685), giving free passage to Huguenot refugees and tax-free status to them for ten years.

In the late 17th century, 150,000–200,000 Huguenots fled to England, the Netherlands, Prussia, Switzerland, and the English and Dutch overseas colonies. A significant community in France remained in the region. A separate Protestant community, of the faith, existed in the newly conquered province of, its status not affected by the Edict of Fontainebleau.

Spain
In the early 16th century, Spain had a different political and cultural milieu from its Western and Central European neighbors in several respects, which affected the mentality and the reaction of the nation towards the Reformation. Spain, which had only recently managed to complete the reconquest of the Peninsula from the in 1492, had been preoccupied with converting the Muslim and Jewish population of the newly conquered regions through the establishment of the  in 1478. The rulers of the nation stressed political, cultural, and religious unity, and by the time of the Lutheran Reformation, the Spanish Inquisition was already 40 years old and had the capability of quickly persecuting with any new movement that the leaders of the Catholic Church perceived or interpreted to be religious heterodoxy. did not wish to see Spain or the rest of Habsburg Europe divided, and in light of continual threat from the Ottomans, preferred to see the Roman Catholic Church reform itself from within. This led to a in Spain in the 1530s. During the 1520s, the Spanish Inquisition had created an atmosphere of suspicion and sought to root out any religious thought seen as suspicious. As early as 1521, the Pope had written a letter to the Spanish monarchy warning against allowing the unrest in Northern Europe to be replicated in Spain. Between 1520 and 1550, printing presses in Spain were tightly controlled and any books of Protestant teaching were prohibited.

Between 1530 and 1540, Protestantism in Spain was still able to gain followers clandestinely, and in cities such as and  adherents would secretly meet at private houses to pray and study the Bible. Protestants in Spain were estimated at between 1000 and 3000, mainly among intellectuals who had seen writings such as those of. Notable reformers included Dr. Juan Gil and Juan Pérez de Pineda who subsequently fled and worked alongside others such as to translate the Greek  into the Spanish language, a task completed by 1556. Protestant teachings were smuggled into Spain by Spaniards such as Julián Hernández, who in 1557 was condemned by the Inquisition and burnt at the stake. Under, conservatives in the Spanish church tightened their grip, and those who refused to recant such as Rodrigo de Valer were condemned to life imprisonment. In May 1559, sixteen Spanish Lutherans were burnt at the stake: fourteen were strangled before being burnt, while two were burnt alive. In October another thirty were executed. Spanish Protestants who were able to flee the country were to be found in at least a dozen cities in Europe, such as, where some of them embraced teachings. Those who fled to England were given support by the.

The, although by the time of the Protestant Reformation a minor principality territoriality restricted to southern France, had  monarchs, including  and his mother, , a devout Calvinist.

Upon the arrival of the Protestant Reformation, Calvinism reached some through the translation of the Bible into the  by. As Queen of Navarre, Jeanne III commissioned the translation of the into Basque and  for the benefit of her subjects.

presented a soteriology similar to Protestants within the Roman Catholic Church.

Portugal
During the Reformation era Protestantism was unsuccessful in Portugal, as its spread was frustrated for similar reasons to those in Spain.

Netherlands
The Reformation in the Netherlands, unlike in many other countries, was not initiated by the rulers of the, but instead by multiple popular movements, which in turn were bolstered by the arrival of Protestant refugees from other parts of the continent. While the movement enjoyed popularity in the region in the early decades of the Reformation, Calvinism, in the form of the, became the dominant Protestant faith in the country from the 1560s onward. In the early internal  within the Calvinist church between two tendencies of Calvinism, the  and the liberal  (or ), resulted in Gomarist Calvinism becoming the de facto state religion.

Belgium
The first two Lutheran were monks from Antwerp,  who were burned at the stake when they would not recant.

Harsh of Protestants by the Spanish government of  contributed to a desire for independence in the provinces, which led to the  and, eventually, the separation of the largely Protestant  from the Catholic-dominated  (present-day ).

In 1566, at the peak of Belgian Reformation, there were an estimated 300,000 Protestants, or 20% of the Belgian population.

Luxembourg
, a part of the Spanish Netherlands, remained Catholic during the Reformation era because Protestantism was illegal until 1768.

Hungary
Much of the population of the adopted Protestantism during the 16th century. After the 1526, the Hungarian people were disillusioned by the inability of the government to protect them and turned to the faith they felt would infuse them with the strength necessary to resist the invader. They found this in the teaching of Protestant reformers such as. The spread of Protestantism in the country was assisted by its large ethnic German minority, which could understand and translate the. While gained a foothold among the German- and Slovak-speaking populations,  became widely accepted among ethnic Hungarians.

In the more independent northwest, the rulers and priests, protected now by the, which had taken the field to fight the Turks, defended the old Catholic faith. They dragged the Protestants to prison and the stake wherever they could. Such strong measures only fanned the flames of protest, however. Leaders of the Protestants included, Mihály Sztárai, István Szegedi Kis, and.

Protestants likely formed a majority of Hungary's population at the close of the 16th century, but efforts in the 17th century reconverted a majority of the kingdom to Catholicism. A significant Protestant minority remained, most of it adhering to the Calvinist faith.

In 1558 the n of  decreed the free practice of both the Catholic and Lutheran religions, but prohibited. Ten years later, in 1568, the Diet extended this freedom, declaring that "It is not allowed to anybody to intimidate anybody with captivity or expulsion for his religion". Four religions were declared to be "accepted" (recepta) religions (the fourth being, which became official in 1583 as the faith of the only Unitarian king, , r. 1540–1571), while was "tolerated" (though the building of stone Orthodox churches was forbidden). During the, Royal (Habsburg) Hungary joined the Catholic side, until Transylvania joined the Protestant side.

Between 1604 and 1711, there was a series of anti-Habsburg uprisings calling for equal rights and freedom for all Christian denominations, with varying success; the uprisings were usually organised from Transylvania. The Habsburg-sanctioned Counter-Reformation efforts in the 17th century reconverted the majority of the kingdom to Catholicism.

The center of Protestant learning in Hungary has for some centuries been the. Founded in 1538, the University was situated in an area of Eastern Hungary under Ottoman Turkish rule during the 1600s and 1700s, being allowed Islamic toleration and thus avoiding Counter-Reformation persecution.

Romania
in what is today's was a "dumping ground for undesirables" by the. People who did not conform to the will of the Habsburgs and the leaders of the were forcibly sent there. Centuries of this practice allowed diverse Protestant traditions to emerge in Romania, including, and.

Ukraine
was popular among who inhabited the southwestern parts of the present-day Ukraine. Their descendants are still there, see the.

Belarus
The first Protestant congregation was founded in in the, and the  exists today.

Ireland
The Reformation in Ireland was a movement for the reform of religious life and institutions that was introduced into Ireland by the English administration at the behest of King Henry VIII of England. His desire for an annulment of his marriage was known as the. Ultimately refused the petition; consequently it became necessary for the King to assert his lordship over the church in his realm to give legal effect to his wishes. The confirmed the King's supremacy over the Church in the Kingdom of England. This challenge to resulted in a breach with the Roman Catholic Church. By 1541, the had agreed to the change in status of the country from that of a  to that of.

Unlike similar movements for religious reform on the continent of Europe, the various phases of the English Reformation as it developed in Ireland were largely driven by changes in government policy, to which public opinion in England gradually accommodated itself. However, a number of factors complicated the adoption of the religious innovations in Ireland; the majority of the population there adhered to the Catholic Church. However, in the city of the reformation took hold under the auspices of,.

Italy
Word of the Protestant reformers reached Italy in the 1520s but never caught on. Its development was stopped by the Counter-Reformation, the Inquisition and also popular disinterest. Not only was the Church highly aggressive in seeking out and suppressing heresy, but there was a shortage of Protestant leadership. No one translated the Bible into Italian; few tracts were written. No core of Protestantism emerged. The few preachers who did take an interest in "Lutheranism", as it was called in Italy, were suppressed or went into exile to northern countries where their message was well received. As a result, the Reformation exerted almost no lasting influence in Italy, except for strengthening the Catholic Church and pushing for an end to ongoing abuses in Counter-Reformation.

Some Protestants left Italy and became outstanding activists of the European Reformation, mainly in the (e.g., , Giovanni Alciato, Giovanni Battista Cetis, ,  and ), who propagated  there and were chief instigators of the movement of. Some also fled to England and Switzerland, including.

In 1532, the, who had been already present centuries before the Reformation, aligned themselves and adopted the Calvinist theology. The survived in the  through many persecutions and remains a Protestant church in Italy.

Poland and Lithuania
In the first half of the 16th century, the enormous was a country of many religions and Churches, including: Roman Catholics, Byzantine Orthodox, Armenian Oriental Orthodox, Ashkenazi Jews, Karaites, and Sunni Muslims. The various groups had their own juridical systems. On the eve of the Protestant Reformation, Christianity held the predominate position within the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Catholicism received preferential treatment at the expensive of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox.

The Reformation first entered Poland through the German-speaking lands in the country's north. In the 1520's Luther's reforms spread among the mostly German-speaking inhabitants of such major cities as (now ),  (now ) and  (now ). In (now ), in 1530, a Polish-language edition of  was published. The, a vassal of the Polish Crown ruled by the Teutonic Knights, emerged as a key center of the movement, with numerous publishing houses issuing not only Bibles, but also catechisms, in German, Polish and Lithuanian. In 1525 the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights secularized the territory, became Lutheran, and established Lutheranism as the state Church.

Lutheranism found few adherents among the other peoples of the two countries. Calvinism became the most numerous Protestant group because Calvin's teachings on the role of the state within religion appealed to the nobility (known as ), mainly in and the. Several publishing houses were opened in Lesser Poland in the mid-16th century in such locations as and. At that time, s and came to Poland, the former settled in the Vistula Delta where they used their agricultural abilities to turn parts of the delta into plodders and the latter settled mostly in  around. Later on, Socinus and his followers emigrated to Poland. Originally the Reformed Church in Poland included both the Calvinists and the Anti-trinitarians (also known as the Socinians and the ); however, they eventually split due to an inability to reconcile their divergent views on the Trinity. Both Catholics and Orthodox Christians converted became Calvinists and the Anti-Trinitarians.

The Commonwealth was unique in Europe in the 16th century for its widespread tolerance confirmed by the. This agreement granted religious toleration to all nobles: peasants living on nobile estates did not receive the same protections. In 1563, the was published (see also ). The period of tolerance came under strain during the reign of King (Zygmunt Wasa). Sigismund, who was also the King of Sweden until deposed, was educated by Jesuits in Sweden before his election as King of Poland-Lithuania. During his reign, he selected Catholics for the highest offices in the country. This created resentment amongst the Protestant nobility; however, the country did not experience a religiously motivated civil war. Despite concerted efforts, the nobility rejected efforts to revise or recind the Confederation of Warsaw, the nobility protected this agreement.

The, an 20-year period of almost continual warfare, marked the turning point in attitudes. During the War with Sweden, when King John Casimir (Jan Kazimierz) fled to Silesia, the Icon of Mary at Częstochowa became the rallying point for the military opposition to the Swedish forces. Upon his return to the country Kihn John Casimir crowned Mary Queen of Poland. Despite these wars against Protestant, Orthodox, and Muslim neighbors, the Confederation of Warsaw held with one notable exception. In the aftermath of the Swedish withdrawal and truce, attitudes throughout the nobility (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant) turned against the Polish Brethren. In 1658 the Polish Brethren were forced to leave the country. They were permitted to sell their immovable property and take their movable property; however, it is still unknown whether they received fair-market value for their lands. In 1666, the banned  from Catholicism to any other religion, under penalty of death. Finally, in 1717, the banned non-Catholics from becoming deputies of the Parliament.

The strategy the Catholic Church took towards reconverting Poland-Lithuanian differed from its strategy elsewhere. The unique government (Poland-Lithuania was a republic where the citizen nobility owned the state) meant the king could not enforce a religious settlement even he if so desired. Instead the Catholic Church undertook a long and steady campaign of persuasion. In the Ruthenian lands (predominately modern day Belarus & Ukraine) the Orthodox Church also undertook a similar strategy. Additionally, the Orthodox also sought to join the Catholic Church (accomplished in the Union of Brześć [Brest]); however, this union failed to achieve a lasting, permanent, and complete union of the Catholics and Orthodox in Poland-Lithuania. An important component of the Catholic Reformation in Poland-Lithuania education. Numerous colleges and universities were set up throughout the country: the Jesuits and Piarists were important in this regard but there were contributions of other religious orders such as the Dominicans. While in the middle of the 16th century the nobility mostly sent their sons abroad for education (the new German Protestant universities were important in this regard) by the mid-1600s the nobility mostly stayed home for education. The quality of the new Catholic schools was so great that Protestants willingly sent their children to these schools. Through their educational, many nobles became appreciative of Catholicism or out-right converted. Even though the majority of the nobility were Catholic circa 1700, Protestants remained in these lands and pockets of Protestantism could be found outside the German-speaking lands of the former Poland-Lithuania into the 20th century.

Among the most important Protestants of the Commonwealth were, , and.

For more information see the following:

Kot, Stanislas. Socinianism in Poland: The Social and Political Ideas of the Polish Antitrinitarians in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Translated by Earl Morse Wilbur. Bacon Hill Boston: Starr King Press, 1957.

Tazbir, Janusz. A State without Stakes: Polish Religious Toleration in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Translated by A. T. Jordan. Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1973.

Kłoczowski, Jerzy. ''A History of Polish Christianity. [Dzieje Chrześcijaństwa Polskiego]''.English. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Gudziak, Borys A. Crisis and Reform: The Kyivan Metropolitanate, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Genesis of the Union of Brest. Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies, 2001.

Teter, Magda. Jews and Heretics in Catholic Poland: A Beleagured Church in the Post-Reformation Era. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Nowakowska, Natalia. King Sigismund of Poland and Martin Luther: The Reformation before Confessionalization. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Moldova
The Reformation was very insignificant in what is now and saw single congregations of  and  being founded across. During the Reformation era, Moldova was repeatedly invaded.

Slovenia
is notable for consolidating the and is considered to be the key figure of Slovenian cultural history and in many aspects a major Slovene historical personality. He was the key figure of the Protestant Church of the, as he was its founder and its first superintendent. The first books in Slovene, ' and ', were written by Trubar.

Slovakia
At one point in history, the majority of (~60%) were. was popular among the Hungarians who inhabited the southernmost parts of what is now Slovakia. Back then, Slovakia used to be a part of the. The implemented by the  severely damaged Slovakian Protestantism, although in the 2010s Protestants are still a substantial minority (~10%) in the country.

Croatia
reached northern parts of the country.

Serbia
turned partially.

Greece
The Protestant teachings of the Western Church were also briefly adopted within the Eastern Orthodox Church through the   in 1629 with the publishing of the Confessio (Calvinistic doctrine) in. Motivating factors in their decision to adopt aspects of the Reformation included the and mistrust between the  and the Roman Catholic Churches along with their concerns of  priests entering Greek lands in their attempts to propagate the teachings of the  to the Greek populace. He subsequently sponsored 's into the  and it was published in Geneva in 1638. Upon Lucaris's death in 1638, the conservative factions within the Eastern Orthodox Church held two synods: the Synod of Constantinople (1638) and (1642) criticizing the reforms and in the 1672 convocation led by, they officially condemned the Calvinistic doctrines.

In 2019, told  that although he had participated in the, he had come to regard it as.

Spread
The Reformation spread throughout Europe beginning in 1517, reaching its peak between 1545 and 1620.

The greatest geographical extent of Protestantism occurred at some point between 1545 and 1620. In 1620, the defeated Protestants in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) who sought to have the 1609  upheld. .

The began in 1618 and brought a drastic territorial and demographic decline when the House of Habsburg introduced counter-reformational measures throughout their vast possessions in Central Europe. Although the concluded with the, the French  continued, as well as the expulsion of Protestants in Austria.

Conclusion and legacy
There is no universal agreement on the exact or approximate date the Reformation ended. Various interpretations emphasize different dates, entire periods, or argue that the Reformation never really ended. However, there are a few popular interpretations.
 * In the history of theology or philosophy, the Reformation era ended with the Age of Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Period, also termed the, succeeded the Reformation with the 1545–1563 Council of Trent, the 1562 Anglican Thirty-nine Articles, the 1580 Book of Concord, and other . The Orthodox Era ended with the development of both Pietism and the Enlightenment.
 * The is considered by some to be the event that ended the Reformation.
 * According to other interpretations, the Reformation could truly be considered to have ended in the middle 18th century, as the Peace of Westphalia did not specify, nor did it mean that it concluded; that is around time the (1730–1755) took place. People who hold this interpretation often argue that the emergence of Pietism prolonged the Reformation up to this point;
 * Some argue that the Reformation never ended as new churches have splintered from the Catholic Church (e.g., Old Catholics, Polish National Catholic Church, etc.), as well as all the various Protestant churches that exist today. No church splintering from the Catholic Church since the 17th century has done so on the basis of the same issues animating the Reformation, however.

Thirty Years' War: 1618–1648
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation era conflicts are termed the. In particular, the (1618–1648) devastated much of, killing between 25% and 40% of its entire population. Catholic and its allies fought against the Protestant princes of Germany, supported at various times by Denmark, Sweden and. The Habsburgs, who ruled Spain, Austria, the, , , the and much of Germany and Italy, were staunch defenders of the Catholic Church. Some historians believe that the era of the Reformation came to a close when Catholic France allied itself with Protestant states against the Habsburg dynasty.

Two main tenets of the, which ended the Thirty Years' War, were:
 * All parties would now recognize the of 1555, by which each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state, the options being Catholicism, Lutheranism, and now Calvinism (the principle of ).
 * Christians living in principalities where their denomination was not the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their faith in public during allotted hours and in private at their will.

The treaty also effectively ended the Papacy's pan-European political power. declared the treaty "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all times" in his bull Zelo Domus Dei. European sovereigns, Catholic and Protestant alike, ignored his verdict.

Consequences of the Reformation
The following outcomes of the Reformation regarding formation, the, , , and "dark" outcomes have been identified by scholars:

Human capital formation

 * Higher literacy rates.
 * Lower gender gap in school enrollment and literacy rates.
 * Higher primary school enrollment.
 * Higher public spending on schooling and better educational performance of military conscripts.
 * Higher capability in reading, numeracy, essay writing, and history.

Protestant ethic

 * More hours worked.
 * Divergent work attitudes of Protestant and Catholics.
 * Fewer referendum on leisure, state intervention, and redistribution in Swiss cantons with more Protestants.
 * Lower life satisfaction when unemployed.
 * Pro-market attitudes.
 * Income differences between Protestants and Catholics.

Economic development

 * Different levels of income tax revenue per capita, % of labor force in manufacturing and services, and incomes of male elementary school teachers.
 * Growth of Protestant cities.
 * Greater entrepreneurship among religious minorities in Protestant states.
 * Different social ethics.
 * Industrialization.

Governance

 * The Reformation has been credited as a key factor in the development of the state system.
 * The Reformation has been credited as a key factor in the formation of transnational advocacy movements.
 * The Reformation impacted the Western legal tradition.
 * Establishment of State churches.
 * Poor relief and social welfare regimes.
 * noted that 's marked the beginning of the modern conception of.
 * The Calvinist and Lutheran doctrine of the contributed to  and was employed in the.

Negative outcomes

 * Witch trials became more common in areas where Protestants and Catholics contested the religious market.
 * Protestants were far more likely to vote for Nazis than their Catholic German counterparts. Christopher J. Probst, in his book Demonizing the Jews: Luther and the Protestant Church in Nazi Germany (2012), shows that a large number of German Protestant clergy and theologians during the Nazi Third Reich used Luther's hostile publications towards the Jews and Judaism to justify at least in part the anti-Semitic policies of the National Socialists.
 * Higher suicide rate and greater suicide acceptability.

Historiography
Margaret C. Jacob argues that there has been a dramatic shift in the historiography of the Reformation. Until the 1960s, historians focused their attention largely on the great leaders and theologians of the 16th century, especially Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. Their ideas were studied in depth. However, the rise of the in the 1960s look at history from the bottom up, not from the top down. Historians began to concentrate on the values, beliefs and behavior of the people at large. She finds, "in contemporary scholarship, the Reformation is now seen as a vast cultural upheaval, a social and popular movement, textured and rich because of its diversity."

Music and art
Painting and sculpture

Building

Literature

Musical Forms
 * vs.
 * vs.
 * vs.
 * vs.
 * vs.
 * vs.
 * vs.
 * vs.
 * vs.

Liturgies
 * in music
 * vs.
 * vs. Rites
 * (retained by Lutherans, mostly banned by Trent)
 * in music
 * vs.
 * vs. Rites
 * (retained by Lutherans, mostly banned by Trent)
 * (retained by Lutherans, mostly banned by Trent)

Hymnals
 * and Lutheran hymnals
 * s
 * s
 * s
 * s
 * s
 * s

Secular Music

Partly due to Martin Luther's love for music, music became important in Lutheranism. The study and practice of music was encouraged in Protestant-majority countries. Songs such as the Lutheran hymns or the Calvinist Psalter became tools for the spread of Protestant ideas and beliefs, as well as identity flags. Similar attitudes developed among Catholics, who in turn encouraged the creation and use of music for religious purposes.