Lutheran reform and heretics from Catholicism to Protestantism

In this study, the development and divisions of Catholicism in Medieval Europe, which has been strengthened by the institutionalization of the Christian religion, has been discussed. Considering the impact of the Church on the administration and the effect of the administration on the society, the reasons for the emergence of heretic movements and their results connected with occurred incidents were evaluated. First of all, the groups and personalities accepted as heretics according to Catholics were discussed, and then the struggle of the Church with Luther, the greatest heretic of the 16th century, was conveyed. Luther accused other belief groups of being heretic as a result of success of the reform he initiated when he was a heretic for Catholics and he has written texts about those who are out of Protestant. The first part of this thesis shows that the Luther reform was not the first and that the struggle against the Church dates back to much earlier years. The reasons for the opposition to the Church were also examined, besides, the theological, political and social influences were emphasized. In the second part, Luther has been emphasized as a reformist personality, and his problems with the Church have been evaluated. As for the last part, due to fact that it is thought that understanding the historical background of the European society will shed light to today's problems, and it has been tried to establish a connection with today especially in some points.