Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, the majority belonged to protestant denominations. It was on this day, Oct. 31, 1517, that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg Church, thus beginning Protestantism. He was summoned to stand trial before the 21-year-old Emperor Charles V and declared an outlaw. Frederick of Saxony hid him in the Wartburg castle where he translated the New Testament into German. Martin Luther later wrote: “I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth.”
