What was one major similarity between the protestant reformation and the catholic reformation

2 answers:

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One major similarity between the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Reformation is that both aimed at correcting things seen as abuses or problems in the church.

However, what each side considered problems or abuses, and how they addressed those things, weren't the same.

Let's look at two examples.

Indulgences

The Catholic Reformation addressed the issue of indulgences at the Council of Trent (1545 to 1563). Indulgences were documents authorized by the pope that granted remission of penance owed for sins committed. The Council of Trent upheld the underlying principle of indulgences -- that the church had authority to grant reprieve to penance or time in purgatory. But the sale of indulgences was stopped. The church recognized that the selling of indulgences had been an abuse and determined to end that practice.
The Protestant Reformation had begun with Martin Luther's objection to the selling of indulgences, with his 95 Theses posted in 1517. The Protestant side questioned the entire practice of indulgences and the doctrines of penance and purgatory that stood behind them. The Protestants rejected all those things and eliminated them from their church teaching and practice.

Clergy education

Both sides recognized clergy education as a problem that needed to be addressed, and both sides produced catechisms to provide consistency to their education of clergy. However, the content of that education was entirely different. The Roman Catechism (published 1566) stressed adherence to traditional Catholic doctrines. Martin Luther's Small Catechism and Large Catechism (1529) emphasized salvation as a gift of God's grace, rather than something earned by human efforts. [The Roman Catholic Church spoke of God's grace also, but as an enabling power that helped human beings do the works required for obtaining salvation.]