Ch. 1 sec 3 Luther Leads the ReformationCauses of the Reformation

1. Printing press spread secular ideas2. Individuality3. Rulers challenged the church’s authority4. Religious reform began in Germany

A. Criticisms of the Catholic Church

1. Critics of the church claimed its leaders were corrupt2. Pope Alexander the VI admitted to fathering several children3. Many broke their vows with marrying, drinking, and

gambling to excess

B. Early Calls For Reform

1. John Wycliffe of England and Jan Hus of Bohemia advocate for reform

2. Believed that the bible had more authority than church leaders

3. Many Europeans were reading religious works and forming their own opinions

II. Luther Challenges the ChurchA. The 95 Theses

1. Wrote this in response to Johann Tetzel selling indulgences ( a pardon that released a sinner from his sins)

2. Posted his theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg on 10/31/1517

A. The 95 Theses3. Someone took his work and printed it so all could read it4. This began the reformation movement

B. Luther’s Teachings

1. People could win salvation only by the faith in God’s gift of forgiveness

2. The teachings should be based on the words of the Bible3. All people’s faith was equal in the eyes of the Lord

III. The Response to LutherA. The Pope’s Threat

1. His ideas spread like wild fire and attracted many followers2. At first Church officials ignored Luther’s protests and thought

it would disappear3. In 1520 Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther because he

wouldn’t take back his claims

B. Emperor’s Opposition

1. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to Worms to stand trial as a heretic

2. Luther refused to take back his statement and Charles V issued the Edict of Worms

3. Edict of Worms declared that no one was to feed or shelter Luther

B. Emperor’s Opposition3. Prince Frederick the Wise of Saxony disobeyed the edict and

cared for Luther4. In 1522 Luther returned to Wittenberg and discovered that

many of his followers had become a separate religious group called Lutherans

C. The Peasants Revolt

1. German peasants excited by reformers talk of Christian freedom then wanted freedom from serfdom

2. Angry peasants raided and pillaged monasteries

C. The Peasants Revolt

3. Luther was horrified and wrote a letter to the princes to respond harshly to these acts

4. The princes killed over 100,000 peasants and thus the peasants rejected Luther as a result

D. Germany at War

1. German princes began to assert their independence from Charles V by accepting Lutheranism and denouncing Catholicism

2. In 1529 there were two sides- the Protestants-German princes that supported Lutheran ideas & the one’s that supported the Catholic church