The Protestant Reformation was one of the most significant religious revolutions in the history of Christianity. While chiefly attributed to Martin Luther, many philosophers of the Renaissance laid the foundation for Luther's ideals. The emphasis on individualism that was sparked by the Italian Renaissance directly led to Luther's notion that the actions of the individual's belief and faith determined one's standing with God, not the ramblings of a corrupt hierarchy that had distorted the religion. Also, many Renaissance scholars who taught of doing things for practical reasons, not religious ones, impacted Luther's view on such matters as indulgences. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the Renaissance's ideas of Christian Humanism led to attempts to improve the Catholic Church, criticisms of the Church, and, ultimately, the Reformation of the Church. Martin Luther may have acted alone when his crusade began, but the Reformation was anything but a unilateral action.

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