World Civ Unit 3

Protestant Reformation

MARTIN LUTHER

Born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of Western history’s most significant figures. Luther spent his early years in relative anonymity as a monk and scholar. But in 1517 Luther penned a document attacking the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling “indulgences” to absolve sin. His “95 Theses,” which propounded two central beliefs—that the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds—was to spark the Protestant Reformation. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas. His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West.

Before Protestant Reformation: Power of the Church

• Princes and Emperors didn’t like sharing power with the Pope, but power increased when sanctioned by the Pope

• Unifying force with undisputed control in otherworldly issues and huge sway in worldly issues

• Could only get to heaven the church’s way

Church Gets Into Trouble

• Sells indulgences– Generates income: maintains power over the masses– Needs to finance patrons: Renaissance Artists– Paying for construction of St. Peter’s Basilica (Church in Vatican

City where the Pope lives)– Reduces time in Purgatory for self and for family members

already there

• Controls huge blocks of land• Doesn’t pay taxes• Temporarily 2 Popes: France claims their own for 7

decades• Church too concerned with wealth and power

Church Gets Into Trouble cont’d.

• Clergy not well-trained or spiritual– Some appointed for political purposes– Corrupt: spiritually bankrupt

• Early attempts at reform– John Wycliffe (Oxford University) Church should

return to spiritual values• Body burned and followers persecuted

– Jan Hus (Bohemia) urged reform• Burned at the stake• Led to decades long war

– Savonarola (Dominican Friar-Clergy) used violence to fight church

Martin Luther

• Frustrations: produced 95 Theses – Selling of indulgences– Worldly nature of Rome– Church services not in vernacular– Salvation by grace through faith, not by indulgences

or through the church– Don’t need church as intermediary: go right to Bible

• Diet at Worms: refused to recant, saved by Prince and not killed

Christianity Splits

• Consequences– Luther’s followers become Lutheran Church– New leaders emerge with other Biblical interpretations

• John Calvin: predestination of the elect• Huguenots in France• Pilgrims in US• Anglicans in England

– King Henry VIII creates the Anglican Church a.k.a. Church of England

• Pope refused his annulment• Allows King to confiscate church property

– Over 100,000 people died in the turmoil

Philosophical Consequences

• If the strongest institution, the Church, can be questioned, anything is fair game

• Nature of Universe

• Role of government

• Set a foundation for future revolutions

Protestant Beliefs

• Originally favored simplicity of the institution of the church, but when Protestant church grew too large—it often became too concerned with politics and bureaucracy like the Catholic Church

• Placed less emphasis on rituals and sacraments

• Opposed veneration of Mary and the Saints

• Only Grace through Faith can save sinful man, not Popes, Priests, or rituals

Protestant Beliefs

• Reading the Bible and interpreting it for self: contributed to higher literacy rates

• More lenient about divorce• Allowed clergy to marry• Rejected transubstantiation: communion

with wine and bread

Counter Reformation a.k.a. Catholic Reformation

• Gained credibility– Stopped selling indulgences– Trained priests and bishops requiring some spirituality– Jesuits: stricter training—began missionary push into

China, US, etc.• Reconfirmed absolute authority—wouldn’t budge

– Sunday Mass mandatory– Council of Trent 1545,1563 defined rules

• How to get salvation• Latin • Punished heretics

– Succeeds in winning back many converts

Results: European Conflict

• Southern Europe, France, and South Germany are Catholic

• Northern Europe, England, North Germany, Scandinavia are Lutheran, Anglican, or Calvinist

Effects of Reformation

• Luther’s insistence on Bible being translated into German/Vernacular spread literacy

• Support of German Princes led to increased nationalism

• Thirty Years War (100,000+ deaths) German Princes—Lutheranism vs. Catholicism– Germany can’t become unified nation

Effects of Reformation

• Religious wars freed Netherlands (Calvinism) from Spain

• Henry VIII separated England from Catholic Church– Made himself the head of the Anglican

Church– An Act of Supremacy

• Ended Medieval way where the Catholic Church was the sole source of stability in Europe

Effects of Reformation cont’d.

• Anticlericalism– Dismay over corruption of clergy– Luther said Priests weren’t necessary

• Growth of Middle Class continues—good works and material success a confirmation of salvation

• Created a Middle Class that would eventually help establish democracies

• Increased questioning of political authority

Effects of Reformation cont’d.

• Strengthened the power of Monarchs/Kings as Papal power decreased

• Encouraged education—Protestants wanted children to be able to read and interpret the Bible

• Improved the status of women WITHIN marriage—writers encouraged love between man and wife

• Created even more Protestant churches