The Protestant Reformation

Call for Church Reform

Vocabulary:•Reformation: movement to reform the Catholic church; led to the creation of Protestantism

• Indulgence: reduced the Church’s punishment for a sin

Vocabulary:• Theology: the study of religion and God

• Predestination: belief that no matter what a person does, the outcome of his or her life is already planned by God

Martin Luther• A young monk• In 1517, he challenged the

Roman Catholic Church• Said that the pope (head of the

Catholic Church) couldn’t decide what a person had to do to get into heaven

Martin Luther continued• Eventually, his challenge of the

pope’s authority led to the creation of new churches in Western Europe

• At 1st, he only wanted to reform (change) the church

• This is why we call it these events “ The Reformation”

The Reformation• Became the beginning of a

movement known as “Protestantism”

• By the end of the Reformation, many new Christian churches had appeared in Europe

What Ideas led to the Reformation?Desiderius Eramus

–Wrote that humans could use their reasoning skills to become better Christians & improve the church

–Wanted even the farmers working in the field to stop and read the Bible

Desiderius Eramus–He wrote that what mattered was that people were good in their everyday lives

– It was not good enough to just attend religious activities, like attending church on Sunday

Desiderius Eramus

Church Upsets Reformers:• By the 1300’s, many thought the

church had problems– Taxed people heavily– Some bishops behaved like they

were kings:• They built palaces• Spent money on fine art• Made sure their relatives had good jobs• In many villages, priest could barely

read or give a good sermon

Anger for the Church• Many were upset with the Church’s

focus on money• One Church practice that angered

them were “indulgences”– Reduced the Church’s punishment

for a sin– They had given out indulgences

before but usually did not sell them

Indulgences• In the 1500’s, the pope

needed money to repair the church of St. Peter’s in Rome

• He decided to sell indulgences to raise money

Sale • The sale of indulgences enraged

Martin Luther• Angry that church leaders allowed

people to think this was a pardon for sin

• Idea of selling God’s forgiveness seemed “unholy” to him

• Not the 1st person to question the pope’s power

John Wycliffe• English Priest, who as early as

1370’s, opposed Church policies• Preached that Christians needed

only to recognize Jesus as a power above them, not the pope

• Wycliffe & Luther both challenged the pope’s power but also both had a great respect for the Bible

Wycliffe

• Wanted everyone to read the Bible• Translated many passages from

Latin into English for his followers• After his death, his followers

finished the translating of the Bible.• This created the 1st English edition

of the Bible

Who was Martin Luther?• Concluded that only faith, not good

works, brought salvation• Believed salvation was a gift from

God, not something earned by helping others

• Astonished that the Church would tell peasants that they could “buy” their salvation

Ninety-Five Theses• Written by Martin Luther• 95 arguments against the

selling of indulgences• Sent them to the Bishop• Also, nailed them to the

door of Wittenberg Cathedral for all to read

• Thousands of copies made and read all across the German Kingdoms

Theses Quote

“He who gives to a poor man, or lends to a needy

man, does better than if he bought pardons.”-Martin Luther

Church Reaction

• Did not take Luther seriously• Soon realized that if people

believed him then they would rely on the Bible and not the priests or indulgences

• Pope & Luther argued for several years

Punishment for Luther• Pope excommunicated (kicked out) Luther from Church

•No longer a member of the Church or a monk

•Could not receive sacraments

Luther’s Ideas led to:• Creation of a new

denomination (organized branch of Christianity)

• Known as “Lutheranism”• 1st Protestant denomination

3 Main Ideas of Lutheranism:

1. Faith in Jesus, not good deeds, brings salvation

2.Bible is the final source of truth, not a church or its ministers

3.Church made up of believers, not just the clergy

Revolts• Even the peasants heard

about Luther and his fight w/ the pope

• Life had always been hard but in 1520’s, it was terrible

• Crops had been poor for several years

Peasants Revolt• They felt if Luther was right and

could stand up to the pope, then they must have the right to stand up to greedy nobles

• Made a list of their demands based on the Bible

• Revolts broke out but the peasants were soon defeated

Nobles• Top of the social scale•Had better weapons & horses

•Won easily- killing thousands of peasants

Luther Sympathy:• Felt sorry for peasants but hated the

violence• Criticized nobles for treatment of the

lower class peasants• Afraid of what would happen to the

peasants w/out a strong government• Told them that God had set the

government above them & they must obey it.

Politics & Lutheranism• Local kings and nobles of the Roman

Empire did not want Charles V (the Holy Roman Emperor) to become too powerful

• Realized they could increase their power if they supported Lutheranism

• When the kings became Lutheran, their entire kingdom did also

Money•Catholic Church could not earn income from the Lutheran kingdoms

•Charles V fought with local kings but could not defeat them

Role of Charles V in Lutheranism• Emperor with a lot of power• Other rulers resented him & wanted

out of his control• Signed Peace of Augsburg

– An agreement that allowed each ruler to choose whether his kingdom would be Lutheran or Catholic

– Most of Northern Germany became Protestant

John Calvin• Studied theology (the study of

questions about God)• Taught God’s will is absolute

and decides everything in the world in advance, including who will go to heaven & who will not

• This belief is called “predestination”

Calvinism• Encouraged people to work hard and

behave• Congregations should choose their

own leaders • Supported the idea of English settlers

in America• Should be able to choose political

leaders

Calvinism Continued:•Basis of many Protestant churches, such as Puritans & Presbyterians

Counter-Reformation• Catholic Church fought against

Protestantism, it knew it needed to reform some practices

• Pope Paul III called a church council at Trent, near Rome, to reform the Church

Changes•Clergy were instructed to do a better job teaching people in the faith

•Created seminaries or special schools to train priests

Jesuits• Priests belonging to the Society

of Jesus (known as Jesuits) were the pope’s agents in Europe

• Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuits

• Jesuits taught, preached, and fought “heresy” or religious beliefs that contradict what the Church says is true

Social Classes• Lower classes in France were mostly

Catholic• Many French nobles were Protestant• French Protestants were known as

Huguenots• The Bourbons, who were Protestant,

were the 2nd most powerful family France

A Civil War• Broke out between the Catholics

& Protestants that lasted more than 30 years

• Ended when Henry IV, leader of Huguenot forces and head of the Bourbon family, became king

• He agreed to become Catholic

Thirty Years’ War•Fought between the Catholics and Protestants in the Roman Empire from 1618-1648

Henry IV• Issued the Edict of

Nantes–Recognized Catholicism as France’s official religion

–Also gave the Huguenots the right to worship freely

During the 1400’s• English nobles fought each

other for control of the kingdom

• Henry VIII was the 2nd Tudor king of England

• Wanted to make sure peace was maintained & his family stayed in power

Henry VIII

• His wife didn’t have a male child, so he asked the Pope to “annul” his marriage

• This would leave him free to marry again and try produce a son with another wife

Pope Response• The Pope refused• Henry then asked the highest

religious official in England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to annul his marriage

• The Pope then excommunicated Henry

Henry’s Response• Henry declared that the king, not

the pope, was the head of the Church of England

• All priests & bishops were forced to accept Henry as the head of the Church

• Some who didn’t were executed

Mary I•Daughter of Henry VIII & Catherine of Aragon

•Became queen in 1553 • Tried to reinstate Catholicism as the religion of England

Mary I•When she died her sister, Elizabeth became queen.

•She was Protestant & restored the Anglican Church as the official religion of England

Anglican Church•Some wanted them to give up some of their Catholic ways

• Formed their own congregations that were not part of the Anglican Church

Anglican Church• Puritans were one of these

groups• Elizabeth tolerated these

groups but James I & Charles I, who came after her, did not

• They shut down the Puritan Church & arrested its leaders

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