Protestant Reformation in the United States

Protestant Reformation in the U.S. Legal History

Summary

A religious reform movement formally begun in 1517 when the German friar Martin Luther openly attacked abuses of Roman Catholic doctrine. Luther contended that the people could read scripture for themselves in seeking God’s grace and that the Bible, not church doctrine, was the ultimate authority in human relationships. Luther’s complaints helped foster a variety of dissenting religious groups, some of which would settle in America to get away from various forms of oppression in Europe.