There are many different interpretations of what the Reformation actually was and what it was about. Most people associate the Reformation with the word "change" because essentially that is what was at the heart of the Reformation.
People sometimes use the word "Reformation" as the term to describe the complex set of events lasting for most of the 16th century, by which a large minority of the membership of the Catholic Church change allegiance and joined one of the new Protestant Churches which had set themselves up as rivals to the Church of Rome. The essence of the Reformation was almost completely about religion and that people started questioning religion - something that had never been done before. It was seen as being made up of two related sets of events: the first, the early Reformation, taking place almost entirely in Germany and being centred on the life and activities of Martin Luther; and the second, the later Reformation, its heart being in Switzerland, from which it spread far across Europe and revolving around the teachings of John Calvin.
There were many reasons behind the cause of the Reformation - some played more of a significant part than others obviously. Naturally there were long term and short term causes that led up to the Reformation that changed the lives and the system of Europe in the 16th century .
The Reformation of Europe, many suggest, began on 31st October 1517 when Luther, a professor of theology at Wittenberg University, nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg's Castle Church. His controversial document denounced the widespread sale of indulgences, which caused much chaos in the Church, and there was a ripple of unease throughout the country following this incident. Although this event is prevalent in the history of the Reformation, there were many other significant causes for the eventual split with Catholicism in the 16th century - many dating much earlier .
