Martin Luther burns at the stake

What would be the result of the Protestant Reformation without their leader to lead it? IF Martin Luther had been abducted by HRE officials after the Diet of Worms and forced to stand trial and found guilty would he have been a liberating force as a martyr or would have his ideas died on the cross? How would the world have developed with no Protestanism? No 30 Years War? No seperation of church and state? no defiance of King Henry VIII and no schism over religion in Europe? Could all of Europe combined under Christianity to face the Muslim threat? What would a non-Protestant world look like today?

jeffking said:

What would be the result of the Protestant Reformation without their leader to lead it? IF Martin Luther had been abducted by HRE officials after the Diet of Worms and forced to stand trial and found guilty would he have been a liberating force as a martyr or would have his ideas died on the cross? How would the world have developed with no Protestanism? No 30 Years War? No seperation of church and state? no defiance of King Henry VIII and no schism over religion in Europe? Could all of Europe combined under Christianity to face the Muslim threat? What would a non-Protestant world look like today?

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Cemeteries are full of indispensable men. Although Luther was perhaps the leading intellectual figure behind the Reformation, his damage has already been done. With Luther's martyrdom after calling for somewhat modest reforms, his successors will like be much more radical and probably Calvinistic. People across Europe were frustrated with the Catholic church, particularly its endemic corruption. Whats more, the printing press allowed for the scripture to be translated into the vernacular of the common man.

If Luther became a Martyr, you'd see a lot more tension between Catholics and "Lutherans," probably leading to more violent changes from Catholicism.

If Luther becomes a Martyr, we can later except the "Lutherans" to create their own Inquisition to wipe out the Catholics from their own land as a revenge.

Sang said:

If Luther becomes a Martyr, we can later except the "Lutherans" to create their own Inquisition to wipe out the Catholics from their own land as a revenge.

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That would probably end up with whatever nation became Lutheran majority being wiped off the face of the earth by majority Catholic powers...

My guess is that Luthor becomes a martyr and someone else takes his place. Unless the church undertakes some serious reforms another Martin Luthor is likely to appear.

CandyDragon said:

That would probably end up with whatever nation became Lutheran majority being wiped off the face of the earth by majority Catholic powers...

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Like before? nah. Just 'more heated'.

I wouldn't doubt that this makes England even more anti-Catholic in the end, if history goes the way it normally did, because after Mary, Roman Catholicism was associated with foreign domination, and people being murdered for their beliefs.

They did a chapter on this POD in Cowley's What If? It seems like it would lead to a less unified Protestant movement, and thus it would be somewhat weakened. Luther and his writings provided some important leadership to the movement. It wouldn't stop the Reformation, as there is still John Calvin and some other important reformers, but it would change it substantially. Also, one butterfly they talked about in that What If? book was that the German Peasants' War from 1524-1525 could have gotten much more out of control as Luther pushed Protestants against the revolting peasants, whereas at first many saw the Peasants and the Protestants fighting on the same side against the Catholic hegemony. One thing is for certain: killing Martin Luther will result in a bloodier 16th century, not a more peaceful one.

The Reformation would likely continue with different leaders coming to the fore - Calvin may be a bigger name than Luther in this scenario.

However, Luther had the critical support of the Elector of Saxony, so without an important political patron within the Empire the German Reformation will be much bloodier (and there will likely be more of a commoner vs noble dynamic, as opposed to semi-Caesaropapist systems adapted by countries which converted to Lutheran Protestantism).