hortonshistory.weebly.com · Web viewThe path has eight sections, each starting with the word “samyak,” translated into English as “right.” The practice of the Eightfold Path

Buddhism

The first of our five major religions is Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion and philosophy that began on the Indian subcontinent and was later spread to China and other parts of Asia by way of trade and missionaries of the leader Asoka. The belief system encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to the founder Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha. The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. Buddhists recognize him as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help human society end suffering by eliminating ignorance, craving, and hatred. He taught that if we could rid society of these common aspects, then we could attain the highest happiness, known as nirvana.

By 1500 CE, Buddhism had left India and was well established in East and Southeast Asia, or rather China, where it remains intact and influential in the present world. Today, Buddhists attempt to reach an enlightened state (or, nirvana) by following two main belief systems. They are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

The teachings on the Four Noble Truths are regarded as central to the teachings of Buddhism, and are said to provide a conceptual framework for Buddhist thought. These four truths explain the nature of suffering (where suffering comes from) and how it can be overcome. The four truths can be summarized as follows:

1. To live means to suffer2. The truth of where suffering comes from3. The cessation of suffering is attainable4. There is a path to the end of suffering

The fourth of the Buddha’s Noble Truths refers to the Eightfold Path—a path that is said every Buddhist must follow in order to reach nirvana. The path has eight sections, each starting with the word “samyak,” translated into English as “right.” The practice of the Eightfold Path may occur in one of two ways: (1) A follower may practice all eight sections simultaneously; or (2) A follower may progress through each stage allowing the end of one to lead to the beginning of another.

Finally, Buddhism is different from the other four major religions in that it is one that is neither polytheistic nor monotheistic. Buddhism is not a religion that believes in a system of Gods. Instead,

Unit 1: Religions, Renaissance, and the Reformation


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Christianity

The second of our five major religions is Christianity. Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in the New Testament of the Bible. Christians generally believe Jesus is the Son of God and was sent to Earth to teach humanity his ways and die for our sins. The professions of Christianity state that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and then resurrected from the dead in order to grant eternal life to those who believe in him. They further maintain that Jesus’ body ascended into heaven where he rules and reins with God the Father. Most Christians also believe that Jesus will return to judge all humans, living and dead, and grant eternal life to his followers. Because of this, Christians commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or the Messiah.

Christianity began as a Jewish sect in the mid-1st century of the Common Era, which means this is a religion that is actually based upon the teachings, beliefs, and practices of Judaism. Originating in the eastern Mediterranean coast of the Middle East (modern-day Israel and Palestine), it quickly spread to Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Egypt. It grew in size and influence over the coming centuries and by the mid 300s had become the dominant religion within the Roman Empire. By 1500, the religion was a dominant and unifying force across Europe and the Middle East. Following the Age of Discovery (or rather, exploration), the religion had spread across the Atlantic Ocean into the Americas where it continues to dominate and influence today.

Presently, Christianity has approximately 2.3 billion followers. The religion represents about a third of the world’s population and is one of the world’s largest religions. Worldwide, the three largest groups of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church, the

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Hinduism

The third of our five major religions is Hinduism. One of the world’s oldest religions, Hinduism, is practiced by the majority of Indian society today. Because it is so old, however, its origins are difficult to trace. We do know that, unlike other major religions, Hinduism has no single founder. Instead, it has evolved over thousands of years and has been altered by the cultures and traditions of many groups of people. Largely because it was influenced by so many cultures, the practice of Hinduism varies widely. Practices differ from place to place and even from person to person. However, a few essential teachings and practices are shared by the majority of Hindus worldwide.

First and foremost, Hindus believe in Brahman—the eternal being that created and preserves the world. Hindus hold the belief that every single thing in the world—living or inanimate—are portions of Brahman. Because Brahman is all-encompassing, literally including all of creation, many Hindus do not believe that the human mind is capable of understanding it. That is because Hindus believe that people themselves are aspects of Brahman. Hindus also believe that each person ahs an atman, or soul, that is an aspect of Brahman. A person’s atman shapes his or her life and cannot be destroyed, even by death.

Most Hindus believe that various manifestations of Brahman called devas are active in the world, helping to maintain order in nature. For example, most Hindus recognize, at the very least, three devas: (1) Brahma the creator; (2) Vishnu the Preserver; and (3) Siva the Destroyer. Some believe in thousands of devas, while others worship only one. Because of this, Hinduism is the only one of our five major religions that would be considered polytheistic.

In addition to the ideas mentioned above, Hindus also believe that the universe and everyone in it are part of a continual pattern of birth, death, and rebirth. After death, they believe that the atman will be released from the body and later reborn in another. This is a process known as reincarnation. The nature (meaning, what each person is reborn as) is shaped by his or her karma, the sum result of his or her conduct and actions during life.

Although there is not a single book that contains all of the historical and religious writings of Hinduism, most of the teachings, beliefs, and practices can be found in a collection of writings called the Vedas. The written Vedas, parts of which date back more than 3,000 years, are considered the core of Hinduism even today.

As stated before, Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religions and has changed a great deal over time. However, that has not stopped the religion from growing and spreading for it is the world’s

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Islam

The fourth of our five major religions is Islam. The founder of Islam, Muhammad, was born in the city of Mecca in 570 CE. Throughout his early life, Muhammad was in the habit of leaving his home for extended periods of time and living in solitary. While alone, Muhammad would often pray and reflect on spiritual matters. It is believed by the Muslim community that in 610 during one of these retreats, Muhammad was visited by an angel who commanded him to speak messages from Allah (or rather, God). This message would become the first verses of the scripture that Muhammad brought to his eventual followers. Over time and even after his death, Muhammad would gather more and more followers helping Islam to become one of the world’s most populated religions.

Historically, Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to love and serve him. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of an ancient faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, whom Muslims consider to be early prophets. They maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time and that those from Muhammad and the writings of the Qur’an are the only unaltered and final words from God.

In regards to their religious practices, the Qur’an lays out five basic acts of worship that are central to Islam and that Muhammad himself fulfilled. These acts are called the Five Pillars of Islam and can be summarized as follows:

1. Profession of faith—affirming that “There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is his messenger

2. Performance of five daily prayers3. Giving of alms, or charity, to the poor and other needy people4. Fast from sun up to sun down during the month of Ramadan (time where Muhammad

gave his messages from God5. Pilgrimage to Mecca if you are physically able

Finally, Muslims are charged with guarding their faith as well as respecting the “People of the Book.” Muslims believe that the sacred texts from Judaism and Christianity also come from Allah and that the followers of those religions should be respected and appreciated within society.

Presently, Islam can be found mostly in the Middle East, parts of Africa, and a few parts of Asia. It is the second largest religion in the world with approximately 1.5 billion followers, but is the fastest growing religion in the world.

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Judaism

The fifth and final our major religions is Judaism. Judaism is the religion, philosophy, and way of life of the Jewish people spanning all the way back to the days of the Hebrews. A monotheistic religion originating in the Hebrew Bible, Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. Judaism holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses in the form of both the written and oral Torah (the sacred text of this religion).

As one of the world’s oldest religions, Judaism found itself challenging the beliefs of ancient times. Most of the ancient world worshipped many gods, so the Jews worship of just one god set them apart. In fact, many historians believe that Judaism was the world’s first monotheistic religion.

Other important aspects of Judaism’s belief system include that of justice, righteousness, and the obedience to the law. The most important laws of Judaism are the Ten Commandments—a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship in the Jewish religion. Examples of these commandments include but are not limited to:

1. Remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy2. Thou shall not kill3. Thou shall not commit adultery4. Thou shall not steal5. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor6. Thou shall have no other gods before me

As the oldest of the monotheistic religions and an influence on later ones, aspects of Judaism’s belief system are shared by both Christianity and Islam.

Originating in Europe and the Middle East, Judaism is a religion that has stood the test of time and found itself spreading to different parts of the world. However, in the modern world this is a religion that is concentrated only in North America and Israel and is quickly shrinking with less than 20 million followers worldwide.

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Introducing the Renaissance

Historians have the distinct advantage of hindsight when examining an historical era such as the Renaissance. Looking back on a particular era or on particular events, historians can look for patterns and trends that weren’t quite so apparent when they were occurring. The Renaissance is a perfect example.

In terms of chronology, the Renaissance occurred after the Middle Ages and, more specifically, after landmark events such as the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War. However, to say that all things were different in the Renaissance than in the Middles Ages would be a grave mistake. In fact, the Renaissance is most distinguishable from the Middle Ages only in intellectual and cultural terms, particularly in terms of art and literature.

So why do historians refer to the Renaissance as a time of rebirth? There are two primary reasons. First, following the death and destruction that plagued Europe in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the next few centuries seem in retrospect as a time in which civilization was reborn, was given a second chance at life. Secondly, historians remember the Renaissance as a time when classical texts and classical ideas were resurrected. As scholars throughout Europe, not just in Italy, began to realize their common heritage, an ancestry traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, the desire to collect and study classical Greek and Roman texts grew.

As the saying goes, “you gotta start somewhere.” Italy was that place for the Renaissance. During the Middle Ages, Italy was in a unique situation. To begin with, both before and during the Renaissance, there was no country or nation named Italy. Instead, there was a geographic area that stretched from the vicinity of Venice and Milan in the north along “the boot” to Naples and the island of Sicily in the south. Italians were Italians based roughly on a common geography and language. Cities known as city-states dominated the political, cultural, and economic scene in Italy, and that alone went a long

Why Italy?

So why was Italy such an opportune location for the Renaissance to begin? Italy sat south and east of Europe, west of the Ottoman Empire and north of Africa. This great location gave Italy access that Europe did not have to the rest of the world. While trade stagnated and even dried up in some parts of Europe during the Middle Ages, Italy continued to be the Mediterranean world’s center of trade (dating back to the days of the Roman Empire when “all roads lead to Rome”).

The monetary benefits of trade need little explanation—if a city-state trades, it profits. This made several city-states and many individuals very wealthy. However, trade did much more for Italy than just fill up bank accounts. Trade centers like the Italian city-states have always had the unique qualities of sophistication. If a city wanted to be successful in the world of trade, it had to be willing to open its doors to outsiders. Merchants from other parts of the world flooded trade centers with no only new goods from other parts of the world but also with new languages and new ideas. Cities such as Venice, Milan, Rome, and especially Florence became the cultural centers of Italy and Europe because they first were the financial centers. In conclusion, the Renaissance began in Italy for two simple reasons. First, individual wealth allowed more people to spoil themselves and their families. They were able to purchase and commission new art work, as well as attend more cultural events such as plays and symphonies. Second, with its close proximity to the ruins of ancient Rome and Greece, the classical ideas and ways of thought that were being reborn into society were readily available.

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The Isms

Many eras throughout history are studied in light of the values, ideals, and schools of thought that symbolize them. The Renaissance can be studied in light of what some historians refer to as the “isms:” humanism, secularism, and individualism.

Humanism

The greatest intellectual movement of the Renaissance was the humanist movement. Initially, humanism hardly included more than the study of rhetoric and literature as part of the educational model for elite Italians. That would change as humanists moved education towards one of critical reading, analysis, and discussion about classical texts. Despite living amongst the ruins of ancient Rome, most Italians never thought twice about the great civilization that lay beneath them. Italians later took notice, though, when an early humanist, known as Erasmus, sought to better his world by embracing the cultural and moral values of Rome and the blueprint for government laid out by the ancient Romans.

Secularism

The prestige of the Church took a major hit during the Middle Ages after its inability to stop the devastation of the Black Death. As a result, the Church lost importance in the lives of many Renaissance Europeans. People began to focus more on the secular, the things of this world, than on religion. Obviously all of Italy did not turn its back on religion. However, a marked difference in attitude about the Church did surface.

After the Hundred Years’ War and the Black Death, many European adopted an “eat, drink, and be merry” attitude. They started to realize that their days were numbered and that there were no guarantees in their already-tough lives. Generally speaking, the Renaissance individual cared far more about such worldly things as wealth, fashion, and

Individualism

With the focus shifting away from religion and more toward man during the Renaissance, it should be no wonder that individualism appeared during this time. Humanism focused on the greatness of all humanity, but individualism shined the spotlight on the individual. In other words, the writer was as important as the manuscript, the artist was as important as the artwork. The Renaissance celebrated the genius of man so it was only natural that great individuals basked in the limelight. Individualism helps explain the dramatic increase in the number of portraits commissioned during the Renaissance. Rich people loved nothing better than to look at large, beautiful paintings of themselves and famous artists loved nothing more than to receive huge kudos (and payments) for

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The Hall of Fame

Most people have heard the term “starving artist.” While many modern artistic ideas actually can be traced back to the Renaissance, this term cannot. In fact, Renaissance artists, at least the great ones, achieved rock-star status.

Donatello pioneered Renaissance sculpting. His masterpiece in bronze, David, epitomized his style. Donatello created figures who stood with their weight on one leg while the rest of their body was relaxed. Raphael also became an artistic master. He did many works for the Vatican and grew incredibly popular no only with the patrons but with the ladies, too. Raphael’s works, especially the School of Athens, embody the ideals of the Renaissance as well if not better than the works of any other Renaissance artist.

One of the most famous of all Renaissance artists, both then and now, was Leonardo da Vinci. Even though fewer than two-dozen of Leonardo’s paintings exist today, Leonardo holds a high place in the Hall of Fame. Leonardo did more than paintings, though. He sketched thousands of pages of figures ranging in topic from anatomy to botany to wild inventions. Perhaps the crowning achievements of his career were the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.

Finally, considered by many to be the greatest artist of all time was Michelangelo. He painted, sculpted, and wrote. As a painter, Michelangelo reached the status of “devine,” when he completed the masterpiece of all

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How Great the Art

For many, art defined the Renaissance and it is easy to understand why. Much of the artwork epitomized the “isms.” Many classically themes, thinkers, and characters appeared in Renaissance art.

Italian Renaissance artists, perhaps more than any other group, scoffed at the primitive, inferior Middle Ages. For Renaissance artists, art regressed after classical Greece and Rome went by the wayside. Classical Greek and Roman sculptures accentuated the beautiful bodies and glorified the achievements of heroes both mortal and immortal. The classic artists worked hard to create realistic works of art.

In contrast, art from the Middle Ages placed basically no emphasis on realism and detail. These artists painted flat, two-dimensional figures that frequently seemed out of proportion with everything else in the piece. Furthermore, subjects of this period’s art included primarily religious icons, scenes from peasant life, or scenes from war. Finally, the art often served a greater purpose: glorifying God or the Church but not the artist.

Beginning in the Renaissance, artists experimented with new techniques that would redefine art for the next half-millennium. Innovative artists began using canvas and experimented with a vast array of colors making their work bold and bright. Two of the most significant techniques employed by Renaissance artists, however, were the use of light and shadow and the use of perspective. Artists used perspective to give paintings depth. Rather than everything in a painting depicted as the same size, objects meant to be closer were larger; smaller objects farther away. Artists did this by creating a vanishing point in their paintings. In other words, everything in a given painting receded to a far-off single point.

A wise man once said that art imitates life. Perhaps that wise man meant that Renaissance art imitated life. After all, the art of the Renaissance reflected the “isms.” Humanist art depicted classical heroes and stories and classical lore, not to mention beautiful human bodies. Secularism showed in the works of artists who strayed from religious themes ad the works of artists who used nudes in religious paintings. Individualism became more deeply rooted in Renaissance art every time an artist signed his name to a painting or won a

The Printing Press

European texts prior to the Renaissance were almost exclusively manuscripts, or books written by hand. This was a tedious and time-consuming process that produced few and very expensive books. In the 1450s, a German goldsmith named Johann Gutenberg employed his knowledge and skill in metalworking to fashion single letters and words out of metal, which could be combined in trays to form sentences. In other words, the printing press was born. It could print countless combinations of words simply by rearranging the movable type. Gutenberg’s invention allowed books to be mass-produced in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost. Almost overnight, books and other printed

Effects of the Printing Press

Having words, stories, and names printed in the same way over and over again contributed greatly to the standardization of language in many countries with literature being written in one’s native language rather than a language such as Latin. Because books were available to people in their own language, people read more than ever, and the literacy rate increased across Europe as a result. Ideas that were printed also spread much more quickly across Europe. This aided in spreading the ideas of the Renaissance out of Italy and into northern parts of Europe. It would also help spread the new ideas that were to come in the not-so-distant future.

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The Northern Renaissance

As the calendar approached the sixteenth century, the Renaissance spirit moved northward from Italy to the rest of Europe. People began to see the relevance of the ideals of past civilizations to their own lives and to contemporary events and issues. The Northern Renaissance, however, transformed society in ways that were slightly different from the transformations found in Italy. One of the key artistic features of the Northern Renaissance, for example, had nothing to do with painting and sculpting. Instead, literature began to transform. Sonnets, plays, and essays, were newly formed styles of writing that were being utilized by such artists as Sir Thomas More and William Shakespeare, who was perhaps the most famous and well-known writer of the Renaissance.

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Perhaps the greatest figure of the Reformation was the would-be-lawyer-turned-monk-turned-renegade-reformer, Martin Luther. Like early reformers, Luther never set out to break away from the Church or to start a new religion. He wanted to reform the Church. As it turned out, though, Luther set in motion events that would help change not just the religious history, but the social and political history of Europe, and, indeed, the world.


Introducing the Reformation

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, some believed the Catholic Church developed a number of serious problems. Those who complained, pointed fingers, and generally caused headaches for the Church are now referred to as reformers. Historians refer to the period in which these reformers worked to bring about changes in the Church as the Reformation. To reform is to change, improve, or restructure. Therefore, the reformation of an institution should bring a change for the better, an improvement. Those who played a role in the Reformation sought initially to do just that.

The Church’s prestige took major hits during the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance. As a result of crises like the bubonic plague, the famine, and the warfare of the High Middle Ages, many Europeans became jaded and turned away from the Church. Renaissance Europeans became more concerned with temporal and material things than with matters of religion, he supernatural, and the afterlife.

The Church was losing souls at a record pace. Those still devoted to the Church believed the Church needed to respond with compassion and concern. They believed the Church needed to be the beacon of piety that Europe needed to see. What many found, upon examination of the Church, was corruption—greed for wealth, property, and political power. Just a few examples of corruption that lead to the outbreak of the Reformation include the Church’s view on usury (the Church loaning out money with extremely high interest rates), the selling of indulgences (payments to the Church for the forgiveness of sins), and the Italian domination of politics and leadership within the Catholic Church (this especially angered the English and German nobility). People in Europe eventually became so discontent with these issues in the Church that they attempted to reform. Jan Huss and John Wycliffe were early dissenters of the Church who attempted to change the structure of the institution. In the end, however, it was a German monk who would have the biggest impact during the

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Luther’s Struggles with the Church

If ever there was a model monk, it was Luther. He prayed hard, went to confession, memorized much of the Bible, and studied Greek and Hebrew. After a few years of diligent work at the monastery, Luther even became a priest. Martin should have felt great about this, yet he felt a deep sadness and despair. For years, he’d had questions about his own salvation, and these doubts only intensified after he joined the monastery. Dating back to his early education, Luther had been taught the traditional Catholic idea that salvation came through a combination of God’s grace and good works through the Church. Luther knew there was nothing more he could do for himself. He worked as hard if not harder than anyone else at being a monk, then a priest. He even practiced flagellation, or physically hitting himself to punish his flesh for sinning.

Luther was convinced he had done everything he could—but he wasn’t convinced that God saw it that way. In his heart, he believed that man couldn’t do enough to save himself. The more he studied the scripture, the more he believed that the bible was a divine text, more important than any other source. While at the monastery, Luther rediscovered many passages that spoke to him, including one that he found to be the key theological principle of the entire Reformation. No amount of good works could equal Christ’s sacrifice; therefore, God required faith in the sufficiency of the sacrifice rather than works for salvation. In other words, Luther determined that there was no amount of good works and good deeds that man could do to earn salvation. For Luther, salvation came through the believer’s faith in God. Some of Luther’s other views that differed from the teachings of the Church, and in turn strained his relationship with the Church, included the ideas that the Bible was the ultimate authority over man rather than the Pope, any individual could read and interpret the Bible for themselves, and that all man was equal in the eyes of God. In the end, these beliefs tormented Luther concerning his relationship with the Church. He had taken an oath to interpret the Bible in light of Church tradition. In his mind, though, Church tradition and his interpretation of the Bible did not mesh.


Luther vs. the Church

Immediately following his epiphany, Luther didn’t exactly run out and challenge the Pope, open his own church, or start a revolution. Rather he kept to himself and went about his duties. Eventually, however, Luther decided that he could stand idly by no more. Although Luther was upset with the Church, he did not wan to raise a big stink. He did, however, wish to debate the issue at the local university. According to legend, although there is no historical evidence that actually did it, Luther nailed a document entitled the 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, Germany, the customary way to post a topic for debate. The document itself, of course, is in no historical doubt. Luther’s landmark document laid out his arguments for why the Church was corrupt and abusing its power with no basis in the Bible. The Church never imagined that a simple document like Luther’s 95 Theses would spark a revolution, but Luther and the Church quickly found themselves in opposite corners—and once the dispute began, the fight was no longer between Luther and the Church but between the Church and half the continent. Soon after, Luther found himself exiled out of the Catholic Church and doing the very thing that he stated he would never do. He quickly found himself gathering his supporters and followers and starting the first of many Protestant Churches—the Lutheran Church.

The Reformation Goes International

Luther’s ideas spread quickly from Germany and caught the attention of many believers throughout Europe. One such person, who eventually would leave his own unforgettable mark on the Reformation movement, was John Calvin. Calvin respected Luther and Luther’s ideas but he had in mind yet another form of Christianity different from the Church and from Lutheranism. Calvin envisioned a form of Christianity somewhat different than the Catholic Church and even different than the reformed Church Luther initially wanted. Calvin would get the chance to help develop his branch of Christianity in the city of Geneva, Switzerland. In this city, Calvin began what was known as the Calvinist tradition (a new Protestant religion). To his followers, Calvin preached predestination (the belief that God had pre-determined your life course and where you would end up after death), and that one’s faith would be revealed by living a righteous life and having a strong work ethic. With these beliefs, Calvin and his followers helped to expand the Protestant movement across Europe.

Historians have long argued that much of the success of the Protestant Reformation can be traced to the political and economic motivations of some of the monarchs who chose Protestantism over Catholicism. More so than any of the other Protestant movements, the movement in England owes its beginning to the political and economic interests of a monarch—King Henry VIII—and from the lust and desire of that monarch, who had one of the largest

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I’m Henry VIII I Am

Henry Tudor became King Henry VIII in 1509. Henry was a Catholic king in a Catholic nation. There were reformers in England, but the nation had not yet turned away from the Church. Henry’s wife was Catherine of Aragon, a devout Catholic. Matters seemed to be in order in Henry’s life and England seemed to be in great shape to resist the Protestantism that swept over Europe. Henry blasted Martin Luther and provided the Church with undying support as the movement got underway. The Pope even gave Henry the title of Defender of the Faith.

All Henry needed was a male heir to carry on his Catholic legacy in England. He and Catherine tried and tried, but Catherine failed to give him the male heir he so desperately wanted. The only child from their marriage to survive was a daughter named Mary. Henry decided that since Catherine could produce no male heir and basically no healthy children, something had to be wrong with her; being the king, he never would have imagined that it might actually have been his fault.

Henry loved women and had any number of conquests throughout his marriage to Catherine. However, Henry found one woman, Anne Boleyn, whom he could not conquer. In fact, Henry became smitten with young Anne and decided he’d like to add a notch for her on his bedpost. Henry had to have Anne, so he set out to find a way to get rid of Catherine. Thus began the real-life soap opera.

Henry would have liked a simple divorce from Catherine, but the Catholic Church did not allow divorce. After all, when two souls joined in marriage, they were bound together in a permanent union by God. What God joined together, no man could undo. Therefore, Henry didn’t have the option of a divorce. Henry found a loophole, though, and hoped he could be granted an annulment. Catherine had actually been Henry’s brother’s wife before she married Henry. According to Catholic law based on a passage in the Old Testament, a man could not marry his dead brother’s wife but Henry did anyway. Since the marriage never should have occurred in the first place, Henry argued, an annulment would fix the whole problem. He wrote to the Pope and requested an annulment but the Pope didn’t want anything to do with it. Henry’s advisors were split over what to do. Some believed that Henry should not do anything to damage the relationship between England and the Papacy. Thomas Cranmer, on the other hand, suggested to Henry not to wait for Rome but to go ahead and marry Anne. Most please, Henry did just that. He also appointed Cranmer as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest religious position in England. Before long, Cranmer had annulled Henry’s marriage to Catherine, and his marriage to Anne was declared valid. When the Pope found out about Henry’s shenanigans, he threatened to excommunicate Henry. Henry responded by making Anne the Queen of England. Needless to say, this horrified the papacy. Just a few months after Henry’s marriage to Anne, she gave birth to a bouncing baby…girl! Once again Henry, or rather Henry’s wife, had failed to produce a male heir; this daughter would be named Elizabeth.

The English monarchy quickly went to work by officially breaking ties with the Catholic Church and creating and instituting the Anglican Church, or, the Church of England (another new Protestant religion). In 1534 the English monarchy passed the Act of Supremacy, legislation that declared the king the true head of the Church of England essentially declaring the Pope to be irrelevant.

Now, the English Reformation had begun not because of passionate preaching or heartfelt convictions. Henry just wanted out of his marriage with Catherine. But there were other good reasons for breaking ties with Rome. The Church owned perhaps more land and wealth in England than the king himself, and the break with Rome gave Henry the opportunity to confiscate that land. Further down the road, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth became Queen of England. She continued with her father’s religious views

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Other Effects of the Protestant Reformation

The Reformation had its roots in theology, but it also led to important economic and political changes. Religious differences and hatred caused war and destruction. The Reformation had a strong impact on German states where Martin Luther began the Protestant faith. Princes in Northern Germany converted to Protestantism thus ending the authority of the Pope in their states. However, the Hapsburg family, an important family in Germany, continued to support the Catholic Church using the authority of the Holy Roman Empire. Tensions arose between the two faiths and conflict between the Protestant and Catholics ultimately resulted in a devastating war known as the Thirty Years’ War.

In France, the Reformation had mixed impact. The Catholic monarchy of the country granted Huguenots (French Protestants) freedom of worship by the passing the document known as the Edict of Nantes. This document would later be revoked under the reign of Louis XIV. France also experienced conflict due to the Thirty Years’ War. Cardinal Richelieu of France actually changed the focus of the Thirty Years’ War from a religious to a political conflict to help his cause.

At first, the Reformation divided the countries of Europe on religious principles, but gradually religious toleration emerged. The Reformation also concentrated the power in most European states with the monarch. The Reformation led to changing culture values, traditions, and philosophies including growth of secularism (separation from the church), growth of individualism, and eventual growth of religious tolerance.

Catholic Counter Reformation

As the Protestant movement began to sweep itself across the European continent, it did not take long for the Catholic Church to realize that they were losing many members, and therefore a great deal of power, to the new Protestant faith. As a result, they attempted to reform themselves through the Catholic Counter Reformation. The Council of Trent was a meeting of Catholic leadership that was set to make sweeping changes in the Catholic Church, should they find the change necessary in order to stop the bleeding. In the end, however, the group did little to appease its former followers and instead reaffirmed most Church doctrine and practices. The Catholics also created the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), founded to spread the Catholic doctrine around the world. As the Protestant movement continued to spread, however, the cruelest method that the Catholic Church used during the Counter Reformation was ordered by the Pope himself. This was the Inquisition. This Inquisition reinforced Catholic doctrine by hunting down and killing those who opposed the Catholic Church.

After both the Protestant and Catholic Reformation, Europe stood squarely divided into two camps that would find themselves at odds for centuries to come.

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Unit 1: Religions, Renaissance, and the Reformation 15

Documents

hortonshistory.weebly.com · Web viewThe path has eight sections, each starting with the word “samyak,” translated into English as “right.” The practice of the Eightfold Path