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Reformation People Devote Themselves To Term Paper

In terms of politics, the Catholic Church was both a political and religious institution. As a political institution, it was imperative for the Church to maintain its number of devotees. Hence, while the philosophy of humanism inspired many reformation attempts, these were also driven by the need for more Catholic worshipers, and hence for more political power. When politicians turned away from Catholicism, however, this became a problem.

Probably the most successful as well as most sincerely spiritual reform within the Catholic Church was the Society of Jesus, established by Ignatius of Loyola (388). Loyola began his reform during a painful recovery from a war injury. With a large amount of time to devote to reading, Loyola began to study writings regarding the personal search for Christ. He sincerely dedicated his life to be a soldier of Christ, and as such devoted a writing of his own to this new direction of thought. For him, the search for Christ was inherent...

In a political sense, this discouraged devotees from leaving the Catholic Church in search of a more personal path towards divinity.
From the above, it can be seen that it is impossible to separate organized religion from the society and politics within which it operates. Political and religious institutions are necessarily either in agreement for the purpose of power, or in conflict for the same reason. Religious and political leaders alike tend to search for power rather than spiritual sincerity in their attempts to lead their subordinates.

While the Reformation was therefore inspired by spiritual insights gained by individuals, it nevertheless became a broader movement of politics and social issues as well. The hardship, wars and other social issues of the time served as much as ideological evolution to shape the Reformation both within and outside of the Catholic Church.

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