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The Reformation of European religion in the 16th century cannot be generally attributed to the secular spirit of the Italian Renaissance. Although the peasants saw bishops and abbots as part of a wealthy and oppressive ruling class and rebelled against the Roman Catholic Church for reasons primarily pertaining to the lavish adornments used by those aforementioned, their power was not great enough, nor did their reasons carry enough clout to start a reformation movement throughout …

…Italian Renaissance, making it a perfect example of the non-factor that the secular spirit of the Renaissance was. The 16th Century Reformations represented a significant wave of change for all of Europe subsequent to the Italian and Northern Renaissances. However, the various Reformations of 16th century Europe by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and King Henry VIII of England had little or nothing to do with the worldly and decided non-religious attitude of the Italian Renaissance.