In the sixteenth century, Protestant, Catholic, theologians and rulers all were obsessed with “great religious passions” regardless of their status. and they insisted that the confession of their faith should be carried through the world with forc...
In the sixteenth century, Protestant, Catholic, theologians and rulers all were obsessed with “great religious passions” regardless of their status. and they insisted that the confession of their faith should be carried through the world with force. The spirit of the Reformation era was regarded as ‘nothing more important than the truth of God’ and all their political and personal ambitions were subordinated to that. Indeed, many large-scale conflicts in the Reformation era were a product of religious passions. Thus, the Reformation started with a religious enthusiasm.
Reformers such as Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, and even rebellious Reformers, were also excellent figures in their religious passion. Everything in this era was subordinated to religious zeal. But this religious enthusiasm inevitably led to conflicts. In particular, the Reformed and Roman Catholics conflicted directly in many regions. However, it was the Peace of Augsburg Treaty that temporarily restricted large-scale conflicts in Germany.
The religious enthusiasm has been amplified, resulting in a massive war that the inner weaknesses of the Peace of Augsburg Treaty could no longer afford. The destructive war that took place over the course of three decades retreated the religious passion from almost every the public to the private. The era of the Reformation began with a religious enthusiasm, but it ended regretfully with religious indifference. It was the Treaty of Westphalia that symbolized this phenomenon. At the same time, the Treaty of Westphalia brought a new era: modern.