# Canonical recap data for Reformation Begins (1517)
# Source: https://recap.at/1517/reformation
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: reformation
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1517/reformation"
title: Reformation Begins
subtitle: Martin Luther's ninety-five theses challenged papal authority and fractured Western Christianity, triggering centuries of religious and political upheaval.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1517-10-31
datePrecision: day
year: 1517
decade: 1510
country:
name: Holy Roman Empire
slug: holy-roman-empire
summaryShort: "The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church hierarchy. Towards the end of the Renaissance, the "
summaryLong: The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church hierarchy. Towards the end of the Renaissance, the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism. It is considered one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe.
lede: In 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, sparking a theological revolt that would splinter Western Christianity. Luther challenged the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences and its claim to spiritual authority, unleashing centuries of religious, political, and cultural upheaval across Europe.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Hrastovlje_Dreifaltigkeitskirche_Innen_Totentanzzyklus_2.JPG/1280px-Hrastovlje_Dreifaltigkeitskirche_Innen_Totentanzzyklus_2.JPG"
heroImageCredit: John of Kastav · via Wikipedia
importance: 90
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation"
  title: Reformation
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- protest
- revolution
metaDescription: Martin Luther's 1517 challenge to Catholic Church authority fractured Western Christianity and reshaped European politics for centuries.
wikidataQid: Q12562
taxonomy:
domain: religious
eventTypes:
- schism
- ideological_manifesto
canonicalClasses:
- transformation
- conflict
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: cascading
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260530155401/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-30
  label: Reformation
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation"
