Religious reform movement was started in Germany. The leader of this movement was a young priest named Martin Luther (1433- 1546). He started strong propaganda against the vices and evil practices that were rampant in the Catholic Church at that time. He argued that there was no need for an intermediary between an individual and God. He asked his followers to rely entirely on God. He taught that only good faith and would lead them to a good life and to heaven.

The religious reform movement caused a split in the Catholic Church. The Churches in Germany and Switzerland ended all their relations with the Catholic Church and the Pope. The people who went out of the Catholic Church were named “Protestants” as they protested against the Church. 

The ideas of Luther were propagated in Switzerland by Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1534). Later John Calvin (1509-64) gave strong leadership to the Protestant Movement there. 

The reformers had the support of merchants. Therefore they got great support in the cities. But in the rural areas, the Catholic Church was able to maintain its supremacy. Among the German reformists, there were also the Anabaptists who wanted radical changes in Christianity. They considered the concept of heaven as freedom from all kinds of social persecutions. Anabaptists argued that since all people were created equal there was no need for anybody to pay taxes. They also taught that people should have the right to elect their own priests. The farmers who were suffering under the feudal lords were deeply impressed by these new ideas and they welcomed them.

The farmers of Germany who were inspired by the ideas of Luther and Anabaptists organised strong protests against their persecutors. But Luther was not in agreement with those who wanted radical changes. So he exhorted the German rulers to suppress the peasant revolts. In 1525, with the support of Luther, the protests were successfully suppressed.

But Radicalism survived all these oppositions. In France, the radicals joined with the Protestants. The Catholic authorities in France were cruelly persecuting the Protestants there. The Protestants argued that they have a right to remove the Persecutor and elect a new person according to the will of the people. Following this, France also, like other European countries, recognized the Protestant religion.

The Catholic Church allowed the Protestants to have their own way of worship. In England also there was a reform movement. The rulers of England ended ail their relations with the Pope. The King or Queen of England became the Head of the Church there.

To face the Protestant Revolt, the Catholic Church began to bring in reforms. These efforts of the Church to reform itself are collectively called Counter-Reformation. The priests of Spain and Italy stressed the importance of living simple lives and serving the poor.

In Spain St. Ignatius Loyola led the efforts to reform the Catholic Church. To face the Protestant threat, in 1540, he founded a Congregation called the “Society of Jesus”. The members of this Congregation are called Jesuits. Their goal was to serve the poor and enlarge their knowledge of other faiths.