The Reformation

3.03 Trace social, political, economic, and cultural changes associated with

the Renaissance, Reformation, the rise of nation-states, and absolutism.

Prelude to the Reformation

Prelude to the Reformation

• During the second half of the fifteenth century, adherents of Christian humanism sought to reform the Catholic Church.

• They believed that humans could improve themselves and thus improve society.

Prelude to the Reformation

• Desiderius Erasmus thought that external forms of medieval religion such as pilgrimages, fasts, and relics were unnecessary and that inner piety derived from religious philosophy was more important.

Prelude to the Reformation• Reasons for Reform of the Catholic Church:– Catholic Popes were more concerned with

politics and material goods than spiritual guidance.

– Parish priests seemed ignorant of their spiritual duties.

– An automatic means of obtaining salvation, such as the collection of relics, was being presented to the people.

– The use of indulgences was used to avoid punishment for sin.

Martin Luther

Martin Luther

• Martin Luther was a monk and professor at the University of Wittenberg in Germany.

• He believed that humans would be saved by their faith in God and not by the good works done in His name.

Martin Luther

• Luther did not want to break away from the Church, only to reform it. He wrote a list of his grievances, known as the Ninety-five Theses, and copies were sent all over Germany.

Martin Luther

• In 1521, Luther was excommunicated for attempting to get German princes to overthrow the papacy and establish a reformed German church.

• The Edict of Worms made Luther an outlaw, and his works were banned.

Martin Luther• Many German princes who

supported Luther confiscated Church land, and a government church was established.

• A new religious service which consisted of reading the Bible, preaching the word of God, and songs, became the basis of the doctrine known as Lutheranism.

• Lutheranism was the first Protestant faith.

Politics in the German Reformation

Politics in the German Reformation• The Holy Roman Empire was

ruled by Charles V who wanted the empire to remain Catholic.

• The empire included Spain, Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, the Low Countries, Milan, and Naples.

• Problems with the Ottoman Turks, French rivalry, and the alliance of the German kingdoms prevented Charles from asserting military power over the Protestant Reformation in Germany.

Politics in the German Reformation

• In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg ended the religious wars by accepting the division of Christianity. German rulers, but not the German people, could choose their own religion.

John Calvin

John Calvin• John Calvin was a

Frenchman whose conversion to Protestantism forced him to flee to Switzerland.

• Calvin believed in an all-powerful God and the idea of predestination.

John Calvin• Calvin’s ideas led to the

rise of Calvinism which soon became more popular than Lutheranism.

• Calvin worked to reform the city of Geneva, Switzerland.

• Geneva soon became the center of Protestant reform in Europe, and its missionaries were sent all over to convert the local populations.

Reformation in England

Reformation in England• King Henry VIII of England established

the Church of England when the pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

• The Act of Supremacy of 1534 declared the king of England the official head of religious doctrine, with control over discipline, clerical appointments, and breaking ties with the pope.

• Henry’s Church of England was very similar to Catholicism, although after his death English officials attempted to make it more “Protestant”.

Reformation in England

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fadCAHjN-s

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCmogoGpnxg

• http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?SearchText=henry+viii&MediaFormat=3360062&ID=256062

Reformation in England• In 1553, Henry’s

daughter, Mary, came to power and attempted to restore Roman Catholicism.

• Her efforts, including the burning of more than 300 Protestants, earned her the nickname of “Bloody Mary.”

Anabaptists

Anabaptists• Anabaptists were Protestant

reformers who did not want to give power to the state.

• Anabaptists believed:– Religion should be voluntary;

baptism occurred as an adult.– All believers were equal; any

member could become a minister.

– Separation of state and church; refused to bear arms or serve in military positions

Anabaptists

• The religious and political beliefs of the Anabaptists seemed radical, and they were persecuted by Catholics and Protestants.

Reformation and Society

Reformation and Society• With the rise of Protestantism

came the end of celibacy for Church leaders.

• Women were subservient, and their roles were obedience to their husband and to bear children.

• Protestants expected Jews to convert to Lutheranism. When they refused, Protestants such as Martin Luther wrote that Jewish synagogues and homes should be destroyed.

Catholic Reformation• The Catholic response to the

Protestant Reformation was a Catholic Reformation.

• A Spanish nobleman named Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuits, a group who swore allegiance to the pope.

• Jesuit missionaries were influential in spreading Catholicism in Germany and the rest of the world.

Catholic Reformation• Pope Paul II led a

reformation of the papacy, ending corruption either real or perceived.

• The pope, archbishops, bishops, and other theologians met irregularly at the Council of Trent to discuss Church matters and establish Catholic doctrine.

Vocabulary 1

• Indulgence: a release from all or part of punishment for sin by the Catholic Church, reducing time in purgatory after death

Vocabulary 2

• Lutheranism: the religious doctrine that Martin Luther developed; it differed from Catholicism in the doctrine of salvation, which Luther believed could be achieved by faith alone, not by good works; Lutheranism was the first Protestant faith

Vocabulary 3

• Predestination: the belief that God has determined in advance who will be saved (the elect) and who will be damned (the reprobate)

Vocabulary 4

• Annul: declare invalid