Origins of Protestantism

Protestantism emerged from the Reformation, which is traditionally said to have begun in 1517, when the German monk and theologian Martin Luther issued his Ninety-five Theses at Wittenberg, challenging the sale of indulgences and the authority of the papacy. Luther argued that salvation comes through faith and that Scripture is the supreme authority for Christians. The printing press helped his ideas spread quickly, and other reformers, including Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin in Switzerland, developed their own versions, while in England Henry VIII separated the English church from Rome. The name derives from the formal protest made by reforming princes at the Diet of Speyer in 1529. Decades of religious wars followed, ending only with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and Protestantism remains one of the three main branches of Christianity.

Open on the timeline