Along with its neighbors to the north and west, Switzerland -- and particularly Zurich (above) -- was the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation within Christianity in early 16th century Europe.
The Reformation began as an attempt to
reform the Roman Catholic Church by priests who opposed what they perceived as
false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice -- including the buying and selling
of clerical offices and the use of "indulgences."
These
reformers, such as Huldrych Zwingli in Switzerland (right), Martin Luther in Germany and
John Calvin in France, saw the abuses as evidence of the systematic corruption
of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, which included the Pope.
In
Germany, Martin Luther expressed doubts over the legitimacy of the sale of
indulgences and the authority of the Pope, and
famously nailed his “Ninety-Five Theses” on the door of the church in
Wittenberg.
Luther’s
excommunication from the Catholic Church in 1521 was a primary cause of
the Reformation. Soon other reformers like Zwingli and Calvin followed Martin
Luther’s example.
They utilized inexpensive pamphlets using the relatively new printing press invented
by Johannes Gutenberg so there was swift movement of both ideas and documents
of the Reformation movement. The
Reformation led to a series of religious wars that claimed many lives,
including that of Zwingli.
In general, Northern Europe -- with the exception of Ireland,
and pockets of England and the Netherlands -- turned Protestant, while Southern
Europe remained Roman Catholic.
Today, Switzerland has no official state religion, though
Christianity is predominant, divided between the Roman Catholic
Church (40 percent) and various Protestant denominations (30 percent). Another
20 percent claim no religious affiliation.
