What were the provisions of the Peace of Augsburg of 1555? How was it a religious compromise? What issues were left unresolved?

The Peace of Augsburg of 1555 was the agreement between the Roman Empire and Protestant princes. This agreement allowed German princes to choose a religion, either Lutheranism or Catholicism. It was also established that the religion that the ruler of a region follows is the religion that the people must follow. That is, if the prince is Lutheran then all the people in that region must be the followers of this religion. Therefore, it connected church and state. During a “grace period” families were allowed to move around and choose one of the two religions and settle in that area.

It was a religious compromise in a way that the two religions agree to co-exist together. Moreover, there was no one religion that dominated the region. It also gave people a right to choose one religion that they prefer (between the two). The agreement also stopped the religious (Protestant) war between the Roman Empire and France and brought some peace to the people.

The main problem with the Peace of Augsburg is that it excluded other religions other than Lutheranism and Catholicism. Anabaptists and Calvinists were not protected under the peace so, they became victims of harassment. This led to the Thirty Year’s war and conflicts between Catholics and Protestants.

What role did the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, play in the Protestant Reformation?

The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, was the ruler during the peak of the Protestant Reformation. In the Diet of Worms, he called Luther to question him about his theses and views, promising nothing will happen to Luther. Charles V dismissed Luther’s idea of reformation and outlawed him, his followers, and work. The outlawing of Luther disturbed people that followed him and escalated the Reformation movement. After a while, the Holy Emperor had other responsibilities and commitments and forgot about the Reformation that was going on. Therefore, the movement was able to move farther and became more serious. He also signed the Peace of Augsburg, an agreement that made the Catholic somewhat tolerant towards Protestants. This helped in the success of the Reformation.

What were the religious and political implications of Luther's reforms?

Martin Luther believed that the Catholic Church needed to be reformed. According to Luther, German rulers should be the reformers of the Church because the Church was weak to do it by itself. He also attacked the Church about indulgences and other corruptions that were going on.

He denounced the extremes of the church. He made a great emphasis on the Word and deeper desire for learning the religion. Luther promoted free education for all children to support the increasing literacy and to continue the path of education. Luther rejected religious superstructure of Catholicism. The monastic and Episcopal lords received wealth and lands which was envied by people. In addition, the clergy had low moral and intellectual condition which, Luther believed were a humiliation to the church. He wanted the religion to be free from the unnecessary display and ceremony, a pure Christianity.

The attack on indulgences, which is forgiveness of punishment for sins, usually obtained either through good works or prayers along with an appropriate sum of money for payment, was a part of his theses. He believed that God is the only on that could give forgiveness to people and indulgence was a way of taking money from the people without apparent reason. In a way it could be argued that indulgence is a corruption that existed in the church.