Mid term, free response #4

The Protestant Reformation brought changes from its very beginnings. Nobody's life was the same anymore. Friends became enemies, and alliances were broken based on religion only. Tensions were high, and Europe was on the brink of religious wars that would last a century. The Protestant Reformation brought changes to every day life in Europe with drastic political changes, and social consequences.
Politics changed upon the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Their was an unmade alliance between Catholics against Protestants. Former allies turned into bitter enemies. Religious persecutions, and wars broke out all a cross Europe. In England, anyone who did not convert to the Church of England was sent in the Tower of London, and most likely beheaded. In France, the Huguenots, or French Protestants, were endlessly persecuted, highlighted by the Saint Batholomew's day massacre. Spain had maybe the worst religious policy of them all. They forced any non-Catholic to convert, or leave. If anyone was suspected of not being a "good Catholic," they were sent before the Inquisition, lead by Tomas de Torquemada.
Not only politics had been affected by the Protestant Reformation, but social lives had drastically changed. Friends were friends no longer. Families were divided. Protestants were always in fear of persecution. Everyone was afraid of their rulers. If they openly defied the religion of their king, it meant certain death. In Spain, if one was to merely accuse someone of not practicing Catholicism, they were brought before the Inquisition, and most of the time they were killed, even if they were falsely accused.
The pope brought about more strife in Europe more than any one country in particular. He had a goal, of making every country in Europe Catholic. He did not do this himself though. When he wanted Protestant "taken care of," he asked for the help of a good Catholic monarch. The pope effectively launched the Reformation in England when he denied Henry VIII and annulment with his marriage to Catherine of Argon. The beginning of the Reformation itself can be attributed to the pope. The Catholic Church had a large debt to pay, but His Holiness had a brilliant idea. The Church sold indulgences or a free pass into heaven. It was because of this that Martin Luther began his movement.
After it was all said and done, nothing was the same in Europe. There were constant religious wars. If the pope wanted a Protestant nation to be Catholic, he sent a Catholic to do his dirty work. Certain groups of people were divided. It was frowned upon to associate with a Protestant if you were Catholic, or a Catholic if you were Protestant. People who were not of the king's religion lived in constant fear that he would lash out on them, and had them burned at the stake, or worse. Life in Europe was not the same after the Protestant Reformation.