Martin Luther began showing his opposition to Catholicism in 1517 with his 95 Theses. With this, he became entangled in the upcoming events of the Protestant Reformation. Luther, already involved with the reformation of religion, decided to use his influence to steer the public in the direction of his beliefs. This proved vital in the creation of the new denomination of Christianity, known as Lutheranism.
But how did this spread and become one of the dominant Protestant religions? Did Luther face opposition? How popular was Lutheranism in Germany and across Europe? Let's explore!
Fig. 1 - Luther burning the 'Papal bull'
Spread of Lutheranism summary
Martin Luther became disillusioned with certain aspects of the Catholic Church, including indulgences and papal authority. He posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church, Wittenberg, in 1517, beginning the shift away from Catholicism. This led to his ex-communication from the Pope in 1521 and the banning of his work across all Catholic territories. He went into hiding and continued to produce work, including a complete German translation of the Bible, until he died in 1546.
Spread of Lutheranism Definition
Below is a definition integral to the understanding of this explanation.
Spread of Lutheranism
Martin Luther started Lutheranism in 1517, and it became one of the largest branches of Protestantism. Using pamphlets and printing presses, Luther and his followers were able to spread the message of their faith and spread Lutheranism across Europe, especially throughout Germany.
Lutheranism vs Catholicism
In 1517, Luther started the Protestant Reformation, and the belief system that he promoted became known as Lutheranism. 'Lutheranism' had some critical differences from Catholicism, which can be found in the table below.
Lutheranism | Catholicism |
Followed the 'Five Solas'. These were the most fundamental component of Luther's ideology. | Followed the basic tenets of Catholicism which describe basic beliefs, how to live, how to worship, and the rules of prayer. |
No Papal Authority. | The Church has divine authority. |
Supported Clerical Marriage. | Against Clerical Marriage. |
Against Iconoclasm; the act of removing images or monuments in worship. | There are no rules against Iconoclasm in the Catholic Church. |
| The Clergy would still lead the Church, but as teachers of the Scripture as they had zero authority. | The Catholic Church is hierarchical, with the Pope as the head of the Church. |
| Still followed the act of Eucharist but believed in consubstantiation, i.e. the presence of Christ is only within the bread and wine during the Eucharist. | Catholics believe that Christ presently reigns through the Church and actively judges the living and the dead. The act of the Holy Eucharist is at the centre of Catholic worship. |
Did you know? The 'Five Solas' are central to the Protestant ideas of justification and salvation. Christians are saved by the grace of God alone (sola gratia), through their faith (sola fide), in Christ alone (solus Christus), as shown by Scripture alone (sola scriptura), to the glory of God alone (soli Deo gloria). According to Lutherans, nothing else has religious authority except God and the word of God.
Spread of Lutheranism Geography
Lutheranism originated in Germany and saw most of its successful spread there. The spread in Germany was mainly from the 'top-down' due to the makeup of Germany at the time. It is important to remember that Germany was not the country we view it as today but a part of the Holy Roman Empire with several smaller territories and principalities. Below is a map of Germany from 1547, and you can see how the nation was fractured.
Fig. 2 - Political map of Germany at the time of the Reformation (1547)
Lutheranism spread in two different ways: Through princes and the nobility enacting changes themselves, as well as by the people themselves, although this was less common.
Spread of Lutheranism by the Nobility
At the beginning of the Reformation, there was less of an urge to enact the shift away from the Catholic Church. As time moved on, however, significant principalities adopted Lutheranism, such as the areas of Brandenburg-Ansbach by 1528, Wurrtemburg by 1534, Albertine Saxony by 1540, and the Electoral Palatinate by 1546. These significant areas of Germany had moved away from the safety and protection of the Holy Roman Empire and became rebels against the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
So why did these areas decide to move towards Lutheranism?
- There was a political and diplomatic reason to change; i.e. if your neighbours had shifted, it was better to keep them on your side.
- There was a change in leaders of the principalities: e.g. Albertine Saxony was ruled by Fredrick the Wise until he died in 1525. Although he was sympathetic, he did not impose Lutheranism.
- John Frederick I was the elector of Saxony from 1532 and imposed Lutheranism as he moved away from traditional ideology.
- There was an opportunity to gain assets from the Church.
- There was a genuine belief in Lutheranism and discontent with the role of the clergy in the Church.
Spread of Lutheranism by the People
Reformation from outside the nobility was less common but did still occur. The most substantial support for Lutheranism was in urban areas such as cities and towns. Germany was one of the most heavily urbanised areas in Europe at the time, with the only other similar nations being Italy and the Netherlands.
Fig. 3 - Wittenberg Illustration
Lutheranism began to emerge in towns in Saxony where Luther was based, such as Wittenberg, but quickly expanded into larger cities such as Strasbourg in 1524 and Nuremberg in 1525. Rural areas saw slower changes, as they were more isolated from religious change and also less interested overall.
Why did these areas decide to move towards Lutheranism?
The larger population in large urban areas accelerated the pace at which Lutheranism could spread. It also meant that the governments of these larger cities had to respond faster out of fear of an uprising from the masses.
There was an increased literacy rate within the cities, meaning that more people could read both scriptures as well as any propaganda spread at the time.
More extensive trade networks in major urban areas allowed new ideas from other cities to spread around the country and Europe.
Lutheranism appealed to the middle class at the time (i.e. craftsmen, traders, artists) who were found in cities.
The anti-clerical/anti-authoritarian tone appealed to the urban population.
Spread of Lutheranism around Europe
European Reformation was slower, as other religions, such as Calvinism, had more of a significant influence. There were, however, a few countries that were influenced by the the Lutheran reformation.
Country | Lutheran Influence |
Denmark | Denmark saw a complete Lutheran Reformation, establishing the Church in 1536. It was able to spread to Denmark as a result of its close proximity to Germany, as well as its being a very urbanised area with strong trade routes. |
Netherlands | There was a small group of Lutherans in the Low Countries, but they were strongly repressed by the forces of the Holy Roman Empire. |
Norway | The other countries in Scandinavia, including Norway and Sweden, saw less enthusiasm for a reformation. They were imposed due to their connections to Denmark, but there was a general sense of apathy for Lutheranism. |
Britain | There were some groups of Lutherans in Britain: e.g. a group of theologians from Cambridge known as 'Little Germany', but it never had a major influence on British religion. Scotland had banned Luther's books from as early as 1525. |
Lutheranism was very German-based and saw little take-up around the rest of Europe. However, the ideas created by Martin Luther inspired and created the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, allowing contemporaries such as John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli to develop their own religious practices.
Fig. 4 - 95 Theses
Did you know? As Lutheranism started to spread across northern Europe, there were other Reformations taking place. An example of this is the creation of the Anglican Church in 1534. King Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic Church, rejecting the Roman Catholic Pope's authority in Rome and establishing an independent church in England.
How did Lutheranism spread?
Even if Lutheranism was established as a Church, it did not mean that the Reformation had been completed. The general public had to be convinced that Lutheranism was the correct religion and the only religion they should be following.
Fig. 5 - Martin Luther preaching
The Spread of Lutheranism
So how did they achieve this?
They took advantage of the printing revolution that had been occurring in Germany at the time and had several things that helped spread their message.
Top Tip! It is important to note that the Catholic Church also had access to these materials and printing machines, but Protestant 'propaganda' was more effective as it was easier to demonise the status quo and spread new ideas.
The complete translation of the Bible was important in the spread of Lutheranism. Luther had entirely translated the Bible from Latin into German by 1534. This allowed German speakers to be able to read the scripture and have a better understanding of religion as a whole. This helped prevent the Church clerics from deciding which areas of the Bible to cover and influence church-goers. The inaccessible nature of the Bible still lingered in other regions of non-German-speaking Europe due to the language barrier somewhat limiting the potential spread of Lutheranism.
Did you know? The first complete Bible printed in the English Language was Myles Coverdale's Bible in 1535, but it was not until 1539 that an English translation of the Bible was authorised for public use.
Fig. 6 - Lutheran pamphlet
- Pamphlets were an easy way to spread Lutheranism as it was cheap and discreet to produce and distribute. They could be easily transported around the country without anyone knowing, which saw a considerable boost in supporters between 1517 and 1524.
- Images were another easy and effective way to spread both positive messages about Protestantism and negative ones about Catholicism. They also had the added benefit of being able to be understood by those who were not literate.
Luther's Small Catechism
Luther created the Small Catechism to provide educational material that focused on the most important aspects of everyday religious practices. He intended this to be used by teachers and parents to educate those who needed it. Published in 1529, the Small Catechism reviews the following discussions in light of the Lutheran belief:
- The Ten Commandments.
- The Apostles' Creed.
- The Sacrament of the Eucharist.
- The Office of Keys and Confession.
- The Lord's Prayer.
- The Sacrament of the Holy Baptism.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.1
- Martin Luther
Spread of Lutheranism and the Counter-Reformation
The spread of Lutheranism, although successful in its own right, was not welcomed with open arms by a large part of the population. At first, the Catholic Church deployed high-ranking clergy to debate with Luther over his ideas and allow him to retract his Lutheranism views.
With the failure of this intellectual attack, the Catholic Church fought back against Luther through a threat of military action. Luther and his followers were excommunicated, and their churches were outlawed. This rise in religious tensions started the subsequent response of the Catholic Church, the Counter-Reformation, which meant an increase in Catholic education and missionary work in the hopes of maintaining the power of the Catholic Church.
Spread of Lutheranism - Key takeaways
- Martin Luther helped establish 'Lutheranism' due to his disagreements with the Catholic Church at the time.
- Lutheranism spread throughout Germany mainly from a 'top-down' approach, although there was some popular support in significant towns and cities.
- Europe saw less of a substantial change as the ideals of other reformers became more popular.
- They were able to take advantage of the 'printing revolution' to make a substantial change around Germany and parts of Europe on major trade routes as it gave a cheap and efficient way of spreading propaganda.
- The main response to the spread of Lutheranism was the Catholic Church's Counter-Reformation attempts, including the increase in Catholic education and missionaries.
References
- Martin Luther, (1529). The Small Catechism of Martin Luther. The Lord's Prayer.
- Additional reading: Russel Taar and Kieth Randell, (2015). Luther and the Reformation in Europe, Hodder Education.
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