How Did the Protestant Reformation Affect Colonization in the Colonies - Research Paper Example

How did the Protestant Reformation affect Colonization in the Colonies? Introduction During the 16th century, Europe witnessed a surge in the development of the intellectual society. The development took place in terms of religious liberalization of the minds of the people, the development of the varieties of culture and the emergence of new political ideas. The traditional ideas that guided the principles of the Catholics experienced a change. The principles that mostly drive the modern era also constitute the central theme of Protestant Reformation. The main profounder of this new concept were Henry VIII, John Calvin and the most renowned Martin Luther. These preachers mainly had their presence in the areas of northern and central Europe. Protestant Reformation and their followers questioned the position of the Pope. The way in which the Catholic Church looked into religion of Christianity was questioned by this group of Protestants. In the era prior to the Protestant Reformation, the entities that had control over the political power of the country aligned with the Church and there was a concentration of the authority. They claimed that they way in which the power remained in the Church and thereby on the Pope were not acceptable in the modern society. There should be an equitable distribution of power between the Church as well as the princes and pastors who read the Bible. They argued that this political and religious concentration of power in the hands of the Pope should be abolished (Brady 173). This protest and exhibition of the new idea would result in a number of persecutions and wars that the world would witness. History of Protestant Reformation and Colonialism In the medieval the entire Europe happened to believe in Christianity as the guiding light of the people and relied on the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, a sect of the population started questioning the authority of the Pope of Rome. The administrative set up was such that there were smaller units of state and the ruler of each state would determine what religion the people of that state would follow. A large section of the people had shifted to the newly discovered lands of America. These territories belonged to the original states of England, France, Spain, Sweden and Netherlands in Europe. The incident of the discovery of America and the outbreak of the Protestant movement happened almost at the same time. It had far reaching effect on the way the new lands were set up and the way people got settled there. The concepts of territorialism came into the scene when the various communities lived in the same land with religious diversity. Throughout Europe there was a mix in the culture and the religious beliefs. Hence there was not a single religion or faith that governed the people of Europe though many wars were fought to make one central religion by the different groups. The religious rulers of the different states of Europe tried to extend their authority to the America as well. This history has lets its evidence in some of the places of Canada, Mexico and the USA. Another idea that was central to the theme of Protestant Reformation was the freedom of conscience for the people. The people of America were liberated and they had the autonomy to pursue any religious belief that they wished to follow. The idea that was newly formed in the minds of the people was that there was one God and he was the supreme power. The Pope of Rome was not the only mediator. The common people could reach to God through other ways as well. They were free to advocate the religious faith that they believed in and worship God in the form they wanted to. Ideas of Martin Luther King Martin Luther was originally a Catholic himself who had challenged the supremacy of the papal rule. The ideas that he gave was extremely revolutionary in nature and it created turmoil in entire Germany at first and then in Europe. He was the first one to say that the teachings of Jesus was laid down in the pages of the Holy Bible and therefore the Pope was not the only authority that was the source of information for Christianity. He also claimed that the writings and the books were not the main ideal. It is the thought that guides the mind of the people which should be justified. Luther detested the regular practices that were carried out in the Church every day (Fritze 107). The Church sold various religious documents to people stating that it had led to their annihilation of sins. This was questioned by Luther. They said that the Church authorities of Rome did this only for raising money for the setting up of the well known Church St. Peter’s basilica. Hence he said that the Roman Catholic Church did activities that were actually antagonistic to what Christ had wanted to convey. The movement that was started by Luther in Germany had also spread to the other parts of Europe like Switzerland where it was headed by people believing in similar faith like Ulrich Zwingli. One of the main supporters of Luther was Calvin who had been instrumental in backing up Luther in his various endeavors regarding the establishment of the new ideology among his fellowmen. The Church authorities and the ones having selfish intensions started fearing this step of Luther and therefore tried to discourage the people against Luther’s preaching. However, several groups were formed by this time in different geographical pockets of Europe and they starts supporting the ideas of Luther because it appeared more rational and logical to them. The teachings of Luther had spread to the America as well and had a far reaching effect. In the America the native people already had a religion. When the ideology of Protestantism entered the lives of the native people it had a kind of adaption to the local culture and was accepted by the people in different forms and styles. The people who believed in Protestantism in the Europe got alienated and therefore some of them moved to the new lands of America to freely practice their religious beliefs. Religion in the New World In the middle of all the religious conflicts, the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain explored into the world in order to develop trade routed to India. Ultimately, the Spanish explores revealed that some people with the Americans tried to migrate to the new places across the globe in order to find fortune and fame. However, when the other countries of Europe learned about several new discoveries they tried to colonize several areas of the world. Exploration journey started to spring up in several European countries including England and the Exploration Age was establishes. This particular development was quite important as it allowed several early settlers to travel to the US after leaving Europe. At that point of time several religious groups become the targets for the edict power. Puritans was such kind of group. This specific value demanded secular rulers to govern things associated with the secular matters. At that point of time several rulers did not agree with this philosophy as they availed significant power over the church. Eventually, this specific stance forced several puritans to flee from their home. Majority of puritans and various persecuted groups, such as Ranters and Anabaptists Dutch region due to this stance. They believed that their religious tolerance will be accepted in this region, but they were totally wrong. Several Puritans understood that their religious persecutions were occurring everywhere across the globe. Therefore, their unique views and beliefs were not well-matched with the empires and monarchies of Europe. Finally these groups decided to avoid this problem through travelling to the place of New World. Pilgrims effectively established a colony in Massachusetts, once they travelled to America. The Puritans initially became the most dominant group in this specific region after the establishment of this colony. At that point of time several settlers arrived in America (Flake 1). However, they had to make effective adjustment with the ruling religious groups in order to attain social recognition in that particular region. Stronger religious groups inflicted the way of views and life of the persecution despite the fact that the individuals within the group left their native and homelands. Several dissenters slowly started to spread out across the country in order to develop and frame their own colonies. Religion and the Constitution This reformation not only guided the people to develop America, but also helped to establish the constitution which is recognized as the living document that administers the entire United States of America. Right after the religious rebels, the American Society was dominated by the critical clash among several religious beliefs. These particular beliefs continued to rule America for longer period of time (White 24). The religion values and beliefs were so strong in America that it uttered the lives of several settlers who lived in these colonies. Several people started to understand by the 18th century that the religion is important in life, but it may not be utilized to govern individuals. Now-a-days, people in America can express their views about their religion publicly. In addition to this, they have the freedom to express several aspects of their religion. American citizens, provide value and respect to each and every religion, such as Islam, Judaism and Hinduism. It is true that, majority of the American citizens do not live their lives according to the religious truths and ideas protestant Christianity despite their dominant in the country. Conclusion The Protestant Reformation was one of the popular movements conceptualized in the 16th century that alerted the course of global and European history in a number of several key ways. The protestant reformation helped the citizens of America to increase the colonization. This reformation helped the Americans to attain religious freedom. In addition to this, the protestant reformation helped the people to develop religious freedom and tolerance in the newly developed colonies. Today, the country has become the strongest economy of the world due to this protestant reformation. In early days the colonists used to understand how to use their lands in trading activities in order to earn huge profit. Ultimately, the colonists are able to develop sufficient economic activities that helped in business growth and flourished trade. This particular development happened over a longer period of time. The United States had become one of the major economic giants and superpowers across the globe in the middle of 20th century through this protestant reformation. Works Cited Brady, Jr., Thomas A. People's Religions in Reformation Europe. The Historical Journal, Vol. 24(1). 1991. Print. Flake, Kathleen. The Politics of American Religious Identity. The University of North California Press, 2004. Web. 23 September. 2013. < http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/page/336>. Fritze, Ronald H. The English Reformation: Obedience, Destruction and Cultural Adaptation. Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 56(1). 2005. Print. White, Michael J. The Firtst Amendment’s Religion Clauses: “Freedom of Conscience” versus Institutional Accommodation. 2013. Web. 23 September. 2013. Read More