THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

Eastern Orthodox

Early Christian Church

Roman Catholic

ProtestantismLutheran

AnglicanEpiscopalianBaptistMethodistPentecostal

CalvinismPresbyterianReformed

Problems With The Church1. Corruption in the Catholic Church

Many of the popes were more concerned with politics than faithMany Church officials used their offices to advance their careers, wealth, and families

Simony = the buying and selling of Church offices2. Many local priests seemed ignorant of their spiritual duties, especially on instructing people on how to achieve salvation = acceptance into Heaven3. The Church preached gaining indulgences by venerating saints, obtaining holy relics, or buying an indulgence certificate Indulgence = release from all or part of the punishment for sin4. Most people found the Church unconcerned with their spiritual needs

Early Reformers• John Wycliffe– English reformer in the 1300s, his followers are called

Lollards– He believed that the Church should give up its earthly

possessions– He also encouraged his followers to read the Bible

• Jan Hus– Reformer in Bohemia late 1300s, early 1400s– Preached against the immorality and worldliness of

the Church– Meeting with Church officials and was promised safe

passage – instead he was tried for heresy and burned at the stake

Erasmus and Christian Humanism• Christian humanists believed that humans had the

ability to reason and improve themselves– Major goal was to reform the Catholic Church– People could become more pious by reading classics

and studying works of Christianity• Best known Christian humanist was Erasmus– The “philosophy of Christ” – inward piety, not

external observances of rituals– Wanted to educate people about Christianity and

criticized the monks– Did not want to break away from the Church

• “Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched”

Martin Luther and the 95 Theses• Martin Luther was a monk and a professor at the

University of Wittenberg• He was upset by the widespread selling of indulgences– In 1517 Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the

Church in Wittenberg– It attacked abuses in the Church, specifically the selling

of indulgences• Luther rejected the Catholic teaching that both faith and

good works were necessary for salvation

• Luther’s beliefs

*Salvation was through faith alone*The only head of the Christian Church was Jesus

and not the pope

*Individual Christians should be their own interpreters of scripture

* The Bible, not the Church, became the primary source of religious truth

• Luther even translated the Bible into German

• 1520 Luther called for the German princes to overthrow the papacy and establish a reformed German Church– Wanted to keep only two sacraments – baptism and

Communion – and allow the clergy to marry• In response Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther• Luther was summoned to appear before the imperial

diet (legislative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire at the city of Worms– At the Diet of Worms Luther was asked by the Holy

Roman Emperor Charles V and the pope’s ambassador to recant (take back) his teachings and opinions

– Luther refused, saying he would only admit he was wrong if they could prove he was wrong using the Bible

Rise of Lutheranism

• Martin Luther’s doctrines became known as Lutheranism, the first Protestant faith– By 1530 Lutheranism was a formally recognized

branch of Christianity

• In 1529 Emperor Charles V moved to suppress Lutherans in Germany– Lutheran princes issued a protest, which is how the

term Protestant came into being

Politics in Germany*Charles V wanted to keep all this Catholic and under the control of his family, the Hapsburg dynasty*Germany at this time was a land of several hundred territorial states ruled by “princes” who supported Luther and became Lutheran–Charles was forced to make peace with the Lutheran princes in 1555 with the Peace of Augsburg

• Terms of the Peace of Augsburg–It accepted the division of Christianity within Germany–German states could choose between Catholicism or Lutheranism–No religious tolerance for individuals – princes chose their subjects’ religion

Spread and Division of Protestantism• The ideal of Christian unity was lost forever with the

Peace of Augsburg and Lutheranism was the first of many Protestant religions

• Zwinglian Reformation was started by Ulrich Zwingli, a priest in Switzerland– He banned relics and images– The church he established was based on a theocracy• Theocracy = gov’t in which church and state are

joined and officials are considered divinely inspired

– Zwingli was killed in a war between Catholics and Protestants in Switzerland

• Calvinism was started by John Calvin after he fled to Switzerland from Catholic France– He placed a new emphasis on the all-powerful nature

of God– Predestination = God has determined in advance who

will be saved (the elect) and who would be damned (the reprobate)• God knows who the elect are before they are born• No amount of good works could change this

– Began to reform the city of Geneva and the city became a theocracy under Calvin’s leadership• Calvinists viewed humans as sinful by nature and

enacted strict laws to regulate people’s behavior

• John Knox became the spokesman for the Reformation in Scotland– Knox’s Reformed Church replaced the Roman Catholic

Church in Scotland after years of religious turmoil– Eventually becomes the Presbyterian denomination

• The Anabaptists believed in the complete separation of church and state– They also believed in adult baptism since the true

Christian church was a voluntary community of adult believers

– Anabaptists were branded as dangerous radicals since rebaptizing adults was crime punishable by death

– Later evolved into several religious factions, such as the Mennonites and the Amish Mennonites

The English Reformation

• Reformation in England was due to politics and romance, not religion

• King Henry VIII became king at age 17 in 1509– He was a devout Catholic who defended the Catholic

Church against Luther and Erasmus– Earned the title “Defender of the Faith”– Was married to Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish

princess, who had been married to his older brother first before he died

– The problem was that after years of marriage, the couple only had the princess Mary and Henry wanted a son – felt a female monarch would weaken England

• Henry then met and fell in love with Anne Boleyn and decided he wanted to have his first marriage annulled (declared invalid)– The pope refused, since he wouldn’t go against

Catherine’s nephew, the Emperor Charles V– The king wanting to end his marriage was known as

“the king’s great matter”• Henry summoned a Reformation Parliament, which

declared that England was no longer under the authority of the pope– Henry became the head of the Church of England• Kept the new church closely tied to Catholicism

– Henry also closed Catholic monasteries and took away Church lands

– England’s church courts granted Henry a divorce and he married Anne, who then gave birth to Elizabeth

• In 1534 the Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which stated that the king was the supreme head of the new Church of England– Subjects had to take an oath declaring Henry the

supreme head– His friend Thomas More opposed this and was

beheaded• Henry was still Catholic and followed the Catholic

teachings, but at his death in 1547, his nine-year old son Edward VI moved the Church of England in a more Protestant direction

• In 1553, young Edward died and Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, became Queen– She returned England to the authority of the pope

and had Protestants burned at the stake– So many people were killed she earned the nickname

“Bloody Mary”• When Mary died, Elizabeth became Queen– Tired of all the religious turmoil, Elizabeth broke with

Rome and established a moderate Protestant Church of England

– She did not persecute people for their religious beliefs

The Catholic Reformation• The Catholic Church responded to the spread of

Protestantism by beginning a series of reforms, also known as the Counter-Reformation

• Formed new religious orders whose members worked to reform the Church– The most influential was formed by a Spanish

nobleman named Ignatius of Loyola• Spanish nobleman, Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society

of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits– Took a vow of obedience to the church and pope– Concentrated on education to spread their message– Established missions, schools, and universities and

were successful in restoring Catholicism to parts of Germany and Eastern Europe

• The Council of Trent convened by Pope Paul III– Met on and off from 1545 to 1563– One goal was to examine criticisms made by

Protestants and look at Protestant theology• In the end, they rejected all Protestant ideas and

upheld Catholic theology–Both faith and good works were needed for

salvation, the clergy could not marry, belief in purgatory, and the seven sacraments were upheld

• There would be no compromise between Catholicism and Protestantism

– Another goal was to address reform within the Church• Addressed the corruption of the clergy, the

training of priests became regulated, and the sale of indulgences was abolished

– The council was a great boost to Catholicism and many Catholics had renewed confidence in the Church

• Two other things the Catholic Church did to combat the spread of Protestantism was establish the Roman Inquisition and the Index of Prohibited books (list of books that Catholics were forbidden to read, such as Erasmus, Luther, and Galileo)