Luther, Martin (1483-1546), German theologian and religious reformer, who initiated the Protestant Reformation, and whose influence, extending beyond religion to politics, economics, education, and language, has made him one of the crucial figures in modern European history.

Sometime during his study of the New Testament (see Bible) Luther came to believe that Christians are saved not through their own efforts but by the gift of God's grace, which they accept in faith. The event was crucial in Luther's life, because it turned him decisively against some of the major tenets of the Roman Catholic church.

Luther became a public and controversial figure when he published in 1517 his Ninety-Five Theses, propositions opposing the manner in which indulgences (release from the temporal penalties for sin through the payment of money) were being sold. Luther's defense and refinement of his ideas through public debates instigated an investigation by the Roman Curia that led to the condemnation of his teachings and his excommunication. At Diet of Worms in April 1521, he was asked to recant. He refused firmly. Condemned by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Luther went into hiding. While in hiding, he began his translation of the New Testament into German, a seminal contribution to the development of a standard German language.

Luther maintained that God interacts with human beings in two ways— through the law and through the Gospel. The law represents God's demands— as expressed, for example, in the Ten Commandments. The law has two functions: It enables human beings to maintain some order in their world despite the profound alienation from God that is caused by original sin, and it makes human beings aware of their need for the forgiveness of sins and thus leads them to Christ. God also interacts with human beings through the Gospel, the good news of God's gift of his Son for the salvation of the human race. This gift demands nothing but acceptance on the part of the individual. Luther insisted that sin is a permanent and pervasive feature in the world, and a saint is not a moral paragon but a sinner who accepts God's grace.

Luther held that God makes himself known to human beings through earthly, finite forms rather than in his pure divinity. Thus, God revealed himself in Jesus Christ; he speaks his word to human beings in the words of the New Testament writers; and his body and blood are received by believers (in Luther's formulation) "in, with, and under" the bread and wine in Holy Communion (see Eucharist). Luther believed that when human beings serve each other and the world in their various occupations they are instruments of God, thus breaking down the traditional distinction between sacred and secular occupations. Luther also asserted that human beings cannot apprehend God by means of philosophy or ethics; they may see him only when he chooses to make himself known.

See also Christianity; Lutheranism; Protestantism.

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Reformation, 16th-century religious revolution in the Christian church, ending the ecclesiastical supremacy of the pope in Western Christendom and establishing the Protestant churches. The Reformation completely altered the medieval way of life in Western Europe and initiated the era of modern history.

Beginning in the 900s, popes and emperors battled continually for power in Western Europe, as political leaders resented papal taxation and submission to ecclesiastical officials. Religious reformers also began to attack the church. Fourteenth-century English reformer John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English to make it available to common people. He also preached in English, rather than Latin. The papacy was accused of official corruption, and the church's vast wealth incited envy and resentment among the peasantry. In Western Europe in the 15th century, humanism displaced scholasticism as the principal school of thought. This new philosophy encouraged learning and inquiry, and it removed the monopoly on learning previously held by church leaders. The invention of printing increased the circulation of books. Laypersons studied ancient literature, and scholars evaluated the Scriptures and church practices. Their studies formed the foundation for the Reformation claim that the Bible rather than the church is the source of all religious authority.

The Protestant revolution began in Germany in 1517, when theologian Martin Luther published his 95 theses challenging the theory and practice of indulgences. Papal authorities ordered Luther to submit to church authority and threatened him with excommunication. Undeterred, Luther publicly burned the papal decree of excommunication. German royalty and ecclesiastics assembled in 1521 at the Diet of Worms and ordered Luther to recant. He refused and was declared an outlaw.

Germany soon became sharply divided along religious and economic lines. Open warfare between Lutherans and Roman Catholics broke out in the Peasants' War (1524-1526). The two sides agreed to a measure of compromise in the late 1520s, and the Lutherans protested vehemently when the Roman Catholic church breached the agreement. Thus Lutherans became known as Protestants, and the term later came to include all Christian sects that developed after the Reformation. A series of religious civil wars broke out in Germany, and in 1555 Lutheranism gained official recognition. The concept of a single Christian community in Western Europe under the supreme authority of the pope was destroyed.

Lutheranism spread into Denmark and Sweden, where the monarchical governments sponsored the reform movement and broke completely with the papacy. Swiss pastor Huldreich Zwingli headed the reform movement in Switzerland. In Zürich he led efforts to burn religious relics, abolish ceremonial processions and the adoration of the saints, release priests and monks from their vows of celibacy, and replace the Mass with a simpler communion service. These changes were accomplished through the Zürich town council. Some surrounding areas, however, adhered to Roman Catholicism, and civil war soon erupted. Zwingli was killed during a conflict between Protestant and Roman Catholic cantons in 1531.

In 1536 French Protestant theologian John Calvin fled religious persecution and settled in the independent republic of Geneva. He instituted strict reform measures and based church organization on democratic principles. Although church and state were officially separate, they cooperated so closely that Geneva was virtually a theocracy. The Reformation in France was led by Lefèvre d'Étaples. He and his followers were persecuted, and many leading Protestants fled from France and settled in Geneva or Switzerland, where they were trained by Calvin. These pastors later returned to France to establish Protestant churches. Members of the first national Protestant church in France were known as Huguenots. As the Huguenots became established, conflict with Roman Catholics broke out. The Huguenots triumphed for a short time, but Protestantism was eventually stamped out of the country.

Protestantism was welcomed in the Netherlands and Scotland, where the movement was used as a vehicle for national self-determination and independence. In Scotland, as in other countries, the Reformation originated among elements of the population already hostile to the Roman Catholic church. Scottish reformer John Knox led the actual revolution and established Calvinism as the national religion of Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, attempted to overthrow the new Protestant church, but after a seven-year struggle she was forced to leave the country.

In England, the political break occurred first and was followed by the change in religious doctrine. Henry VIII wished to divorce his Roman Catholic wife, Catherine of Aragón, because she had not produced a male heir. When the pope refused to annul the marriage, Henry divorced Catherine anyway. He married Anne Boleyn in 1533 and was excommunicated by the pope. In 1534 the English Parliament passed an act appointing the king and his successors supreme head of the Church of England, establishing an independent national Anglican church. Conflicts continued in England between Roman Catholics and Protestants, as church and government leaders sought to formulate Anglican creeds and doctrines. Many people did not consider the Church of England sufficiently reformed. They eventually formed Calvinist sects such as the Presbyterians, Puritans, Separatists, and Quakers.