IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 597 

Recognizing 500 years since the Protestant Reformation and its significance 

for many Americans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 31, 2017 

Mr. GROTHMAN (for himself, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia, 

Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. HUIZENGA, Mr. KING of Iowa, and Mr. HUNTER) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing 500 years since the Protestant Reformation and 

its significance for many Americans. 

Whereas, on October 31, 2017, the United States House of 

Representatives recognizes the 500th anniversary of the 

Protestant Reformation; 

Whereas the Protestant Reformation lays its roots with Martin Luther’s posting of 95 theses on the Castle Church 

door in Wittenberg in October of 1517; 

Whereas Martin Luther is the father of the Protestant Reformation and was born in Eisleben, Germany, on November 10, 1483; 


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Whereas Martin Luther’s father, Hans Luther, was a prominent copper smelter and hoped that Martin would become 

a successful lawyer; 

Whereas Martin Luther entered the University of Erfurt in 

1501 and received his master’s degree in philosophy in 

1505; 

Whereas, in 1505, Martin Luther was nearly struck by lightning as he walked through a thunderstorm; 

Whereas, after surviving the storm, Martin Luther entered 

the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt, Germany, on July 

17, 1505, to pursue a career as an Augustinian monk; 

Whereas Martin Luther’s decision to give up his pursuit of 

being a lawyer and instead pursue a monastic life deeply 

frustrated and angered his father, Hans Luther; 

Whereas Martin Luther took his final vows as an Augustinian monk in the fall of 1506 and was ordained a priest 

at Erfurt Cathedral in April of 1507; 

Whereas Martin Luther presided over his first Mass on May 

2, 1507, with his now-approving father, Hans Luther, in 

attendance; 

Whereas Martin Luther was appointed as a substitute lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Wittenberg 

in 1508; 

Whereas Martin Luther obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology in 1509; 

Whereas Martin Luther traveled to Rome to represent the 

Wittenberg Augustinian monastery before a conference of 

Catholic churches; 


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Whereas members of the congregation were told that they 

could pay the Church to forgive them of their sins and 

have their deceased ancestors released from purgatory; 

Whereas Martin Luther’s trip to Rome in 1510 sparked his 

desire to pursue an even deeper understanding of Christian theology and the Bible; 

Whereas Martin Luther earned a doctorate in theology in October of 1512; 

Whereas Martin Luther began his lectures on the Old Testament Book of Psalms in 1513; 

Whereas the Book of Psalms became a central pillar in Martin Luther’s theological beliefs; 

Whereas Martin Luther began his lectures on the New Testament Book of Romans in 1515 and the New Testament 

Book of Galatians in 1516; 

Whereas Martin Luther cited the Books of Romans and Galatians as the foundation for his beliefs that people can 

receive salvation by grace alone, through faith alone; 

Whereas the idea that a Christian could receive salvation by 

grace alone, through faith alone was in contrast with the 

teaching at the time; 

Whereas the more Martin Luther studied the Books of Romans and Galatians, the more he found issue with the 

Church of his time; 

Whereas Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the Castle 

Church door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517; 

Whereas the 95 theses were posted in an attempt to spark 

a conversation in Wittenberg; 

Whereas Martin Luther was ordered to appear in Rome; 


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Whereas Frederick the Wise, a friend of Martin Luther, intervened and successfully suggested that Martin Luther 

instead appear in front of Cardinal Cajetan in Augsburg, 

Germany; 

Whereas Martin Luther appealed to the General Counsel in 

the fall of 1518 and refused to recant; 

Whereas Martin Luther was given 60 days to recant or risk 

excommunication; 

Whereas Martin Luther refused to recant; 

Whereas Martin Luther was excommunicated on January 3, 

1521; 

Whereas Martin Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms 

in April of 1521 and refused to recant; 

Whereas the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, issued the 

Edict of Worms on May 25, 1521, which declared Martin 

Luther a public outlaw and made it illegal to be in possession of Luther’s books; 

Whereas Martin Luther published his German translation of 

the New Testament on September 21, 1522; 

Whereas Martin Luther wrote the Personal Prayer Book in 

1522, a predecessor of the Small Catechism; 

Whereas the Diet of Speyer in 1526 grants German princes 

the right to establish religion in their territory; 

Whereas the second Diet of Speyer in April of 1529, resulted 

in the issue of Protestio, which gave rise to the label 

‘‘Protestant’’; 

Whereas Martin Luther published the Small Catechism and 

the Large Catechism in 1529; 


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Whereas Hans Lufft published the first edition of Martin 

Luther’s complete German Bible in 1534; 

Whereas the first Lutheran church, Torgau Castle Chapel, 

was built in 1544; 

Whereas Martin Luther preached his last sermon on February 14, 1546, and died in Eisleben on February 18, 

1546; 

Whereas the Protestant Reformation extended beyond Martin 

Luther and Lutheranism; 

Whereas Ulrich Zwingli began preaching on the New Testament in 1519; 

Whereas Ulrich Zwingli initiated the Reformation in Zurich 

in 1522; 

Whereas John Calvin published the first edition of Institutes 

of the Christian Religion in 1536; 

Whereas John Calvin initiated the Reformation and the Calvinist movement in Geneva in 1541; 

Whereas Thomas Mu ̈nzer began preaching against infant 

baptism in 1521; 

Whereas the Anabaptist movement formally began in 1525, 

when George Blaurock was rebaptized by Conrad Grebel; 

Whereas William Tyndale visited Martin Luther in 

Wittenberg in 1525; 

Whereas, influenced by Martin Luther’s translation, William 

Tyndale printed an English translation of the New Testament in Worms in 1525; 

Whereas, by 1526, the first copies of the English-translated 

New Testament had been smuggled into England; 


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Whereas William Tyndale was convicted of heresy and executed in Vilvoorde in 1536; 

Whereas it is reported that William Tyndale’s last words 

were, ‘‘Lord, open the King of England’s eyes’’; 

Whereas over 18,000 copies of the English translation of the 

New Testament were eventually smuggled into England; 

Whereas King Henry VIII initiated the Reformation in England in his quest for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon; 

Whereas King Henry VIII was excommunicated in 1533 (officially promulgated in 1538); 

Whereas King Henry VIII declared himself the head of the 

Church of England in 1534; 

Whereas Henry VIII allowed the English Bible in England in 

1536 and required every parish to have a copy; 

Whereas John Knox brought Calvinism to Scotland in 1559; 

Whereas, after only a few decades of the Reformation, the 

law began to give legitimacy to Lutherans across Europe; 

Whereas the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, granted limited rights to Protestants in 1552; 

Whereas, in 1555, the Peace of Augsburg gave Lutherans 

equal rights in the Holy Roman Empire; 

Whereas the Colloquy of Worms in 1557, which attempted to 

unite Lutherans and Catholics, failed; 

Whereas, in response to the Protestant Reformation, the 

Catholic Church began to reform itself internally through 

the Counter-Reformation; 

Whereas, at the Council of Trent (1545–1563), the Catholic 

Church banned the practice of selling indulgences; 


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Whereas animosity between the Catholic Church and the 

Protestants previously existed following the start of the 

Reformation but relations have improved drastically over 

the last half century; 

Whereas the Catholic Church and the Protestants began to 

mend their relationship after the Second Vatican Council 

in the 1960s, with the initiation of a dialogue promoting 

Christian unity; 

Whereas Pope John XXIII established the Secretariat for the 

Promotion of Christian Unity in 1961; 

Whereas Pope John XXIII met often with Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox religious leaders and invited them to 

send observers to the Second Vatican Council; 

Whereas the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism 

claims that division ‘‘openly contradicts the will of Christ, 

scandalizes the world and damages the holy cause of 

preaching the Gospel to every creature’’; 

Whereas, in 1999, the Catholic Church and the Lutheran 

World Federation signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification partially resolving a major conflict 

at the root of the Protestant Reformation; 

Whereas Pope John Paul II promoted Christian unity with 

Lutherans by becoming the first pope to ever visit a Lutheran church and to visit countries with Lutheran majorities; 

Whereas Pope Francis praised Martin Luther as a great reformer; 

Whereas Pope Francis continues to promote Christian unity 

and in recognizing the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, has said, ‘‘As Catholics and Lutherans, we 

have undertaken a common journey of reconciliation. 


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Now, in the context of the commemoration of the Reformation of 1517, we have a new opportunity to accept 

a common path’’; 

Whereas the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church are 

more united now than they have been in the past 500 

years; 

Whereas the effects of the Protestant Reformation on Western history, culture, and society were profound; 

Whereas the Protestant Reformation led to major shifts in 

education and literacy in 16th century Europe; 

Whereas Martin Luther emphasized the significance of individuals reading the Bible, which was made possible by 

the invention of the printing press; 

Whereas Martin Luther believed that education should be 

available to all, not just to the elite class that could afford it or those who got an opportunity for education by 

entering a religious order; 

Whereas increased literacy rates led to various interpretations 

of Biblical scripture by common people, including women, 

which allowed for greater theological debate, thought, and 

practice; 

Whereas the Protestant Reformation influenced English 

Christians to move to North America in the 17th century; 

Whereas the English Government and the Anglican Church 

sent settlers to North America in 1607, where they landed at Jamestown and began having regular Church services at Jamestown Fort; 


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Whereas, beginning in 1624, the Anglican Church became the 

established church of Virginia, with taxpayer dollars 

going toward the Church clergy; 

Whereas, in 1620, Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock in 

Plymouth, Massachusetts, in pursuit of religious freedom 

from the Anglican Church; 

Whereas, in 1630, John Winthrop preached a sermon aboard 

the ship Arbella titled, ‘‘A Model of Christian Charity’’, 

where he proclaimed that the New World ‘‘shall be as a 

city upon a hill’’ and that ‘‘the eyes of all people are 

upon us,’’; 

Whereas United States Presidents, including John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Barack 

Obama, have all invoked John Winthrop’s words in historic addresses to the Nation; 

Whereas early American theologians sparked the First Great 

Awakening, which was a religious movement inspired by 

the teachings of Protestants Jonathan Edwards, Gilbert 

Tennent, Samuel Davies, and others to inject religious 

liberty and Christian virtue in the American colonies; 

Whereas, in the American colonies, Protestant churches 

played an integral role in opposing the edicts of the 

English Government and the Anglican Church; 

Whereas the Anglican Church in Virginia was very restrictive 

as to what people were allowed to read, who was allowed 

to preach, and how they were allowed to preach; 

Whereas Thomas Jefferson advocated on behalf of Baptists 

in Virginia to sever Virginia’s ties to the Anglican 

Church and ensure religious liberties for Virginian Christians of all denominations and beliefs; 


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Whereas the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom was one 

of the most important accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson’s life, as it formally established religious freedom 

in the State of Virginia; 

Whereas Thomas Jefferson’s work in ensuring religious freedom in Virginia paved the way for the First Amendment 

in the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights, which 

says that, ‘‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise 

thereof’’; 

Whereas the First Amendment protects the rights of all 

Americans to worship freely, regardless of their religious 

beliefs; 

Whereas over 40 percent of Americans identify as Protestants, with thousands of Protestant denominations, active 

in every State and territory of the United States; 

Whereas almost all United States Presidents have identified 

as Protestants, with nearly half identifying as Episcopalian or Presbyterian; and 

Whereas the Protestant Reformation is one of the most successful religious movements in history, and was influential in the founding of the United States of America: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog2 nizes 500 years since the Protestant Reformation and its 

3 significance for many Americans. 

Æ 


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