(This is about the Protestant Reformation, i believed that it
has always existed strictly as a political event) Politics and Religion
Political and social struggles causes many religious uprising. Even though
Religious Reformations are major breakthroughs in the Catholic Church, its
premises remained strictly as a political event. Protestantism was a technique
used by noble princes as well as emperors to break away from the control of the
Catholic Church and also a reason to gain dominancy over other nations. However,
the foremost reason that Reformations remains primarily as a political event is
because it served as a reason for conflict between church and state. The first
reason that the Reformation was a political event was the alliance between
religious group and the state. Protestant groups, especially Lutherans and
Calvinists, sided with national authorities to create international political
upheaval. One mentionable historical event was the Hapsburg-Valois War. To gain
control of Italy and the Burgundian realms, Francis I of France, being a
Catholic, did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Protestants in his
objective to crush Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, the fall heir of the
Burgundian territories. On the other hand, the Protestant card was also played
by Charles when he repressed Francis with the help of the Henry VIII, head of
the Church of England. Thus, this showed that Protestants during the Reformation
was created ideally to and was manipulated by strong political powers in their
conquest to gain dominancy over other states. Another reason for the
governmental event was its usage by the noble princes to gain political freedom
for their states by breaking away from the control of the supreme governer. What
was a religious struggles between the Protestants and the Church became a
movement towards a politically freed state. One example would be the internal
conflict between Charles V and his German princes and their states. During the
disorder of the Reformation, princes were emboldened to seek autonomy for their
states, thus, creating a civil war between them and the Emperor. The Peace of
Ausburg was signed by Charles by which gave the princes the right to determined
the core religion in his territories. However, the political side to it was the
Peace of Westphalia, a reinstatement of the Asburg's. Signed some years later by
the empire, the Peace of Westphalia gave the princes the right to supreme
authority over their territories. This showed that in the essence of most
religious struggles, the main objective is to gain political advantage among
other dominant powers. But the foremost cause that led to the belief that the
Protestant Reformation was a political event was the private issues between the
king and the pope. Supremacy of state, judicial authoratives, and noble marital
problems were raised to the level of national predicament. These issues were
presented with the conflict between Henry VIII and the Church. During Henry's
reign, many of his marriages went down the drain because he was cursed without a
healthy, male heir to the English thrown. But years later, having fallen in love
with Anne Boleyn, a noble woman who promised him a son, Henry tried to get his
marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. But when the Church rejected his
order, Henry broke away and formed The Church of England. In his documents. The
Act of Restraint of Appeal and the Supremacy Act, Henry declared himself the
supreme ruler and judicial authority of England and noted that there are
absolutely no political interference from the Church allowed. This showed that
the biggest contribution to the Protestant Reformation are the selfish desires
of kings and the Church. Behind most religious disorder, the roots of conflict
was always political struggles between church and state. These ideas were
expressed by many rulers who were tangled in the web of international religious
struggles. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VIII of England, German
Protestant princes, rulers of all background manipulated Protestant Reformations
and had used it to their own advantage such as to gain political powers and
their other personal needs. Thus, the roots of existence of most Protestant
Reformation has always been, a political event.