What was the response to the new religious movements that emerged in Western Europe during the era of dynamic political and economic change? What were the reasons behind the growth of these movements?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A. New religious movements
1. popular heretical movements were a continuous and, on the whole, a growing feature of Western European history
2. heresy seemed so grave a threat that burning resumed as a common punishment, after a lapse of over 600 years
B. Reasons behind movements
1. movement of Christian renewal and evangelizing fervor
a. demanding new and exacting standards both of clerical behavior and of lay awareness of the faith
b. drive to purge the church of corrupt patronage and lay power
c. buildup of dissatisfaction with the shallowness with which Christianity had penetrated popular minds
d. clergy lowered their sights to include the peasantry
2. rise of popular religious dissent bears some signs of a revolution born of prosperity
a. laypeople were demanding higher standards their clergy
b. popular heresies of the eleventh and twelfth centuries were those promulgated by men of ferocious sanctity
c. security and leisure gave people time to think about the Christian mysteries and to develop a desire to get involved in them
1. spiritual-minded peasants could not afford the high level of education provided by the church
2. warriors also looking for spiritual growth