Chapter 12 Sections 3 & 4 The Protestant Reformation

1. Chapter 12Sections 3 & 4The Protestant Reformation

2. People’s confidence in the Roman Catholic Church began to slip after bubonic plague spread to Europe. • During the Renaissance, more people questioned traditional religious beliefs and practices. • They became known as Protestants (those who protest). Church leaders accused them of heresy (holding beliefs not approved by the church) and burned them at the stake.

3. Martin Luther – a German monk • In 1517, Martin Luther posted a document call the Ninety-five Theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. • They criticized the Church for selling indulgences (an indulgence was a promise bought from a Church official that limited a person’s stay in purgatory)

4. Luther wanted three reforms: • A person could be saved through “faith alone” – neither good works nor indulgences guaranteed salvation. • The Bible was the only guide to salvation. • Christians could interpret the Bible without the help of a priest.

5. Church reaction to Luther:In 1521, Luther was excommunicated as a heretic by the Pope. In 1522, the Holy Roman Emperor outlawed Luther.

6. Luther was not silenced. • The printing press spread his ideas throughout Germany. • Luther translated the Bible into German, and more people read it. • Many German princes sided with Luther against the pope and established Protestantism as an alternate Christian faith. • This caused a series of civil wars between the two faiths. • The civil wars ended in 1555, when the Peace of Augsburg allowed each German prince to choose between the two faiths. • The subjects had to practice the faith chosen by their prince. 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

7. John Calvin – a French lawyer organized Protestant churches in Switzerland. He shared some of Luther’s ideas, but had some of his own. • Predestination - God determines who will go to heaven even before birth. • A Christian person, whether chosen for salvation or not, should live a moral, upright life. • The good Christian life is one of hard work and prayer, with only the simplest of pleasures.

8. Calvinist followers: • In Holland established the Dutch Reformed Church. • In Scotland, John Knox established the Presbyterian Church • In France they were called Huguenots • In England they were called Puritans • Both the Huguenots and the Puritans were persecuted and many escaped to America By the mid-sixteenth century, Calvinism replaced Lutheranism as the most important form of Protestantism

9. Reformation in England • The English Reformations was more political than religious. • King Henry VIII needed a male heir and wanted to marry Anne Boleyn. Henry was already married to Catherine of Aragon. Catherine had given Henry a daughter, Mary, but she had grown too old to have more children. • When the Pope refused to grant Henry an annulment (making a marriage invalid) to his marriage to Catherine, Henry took his case to England’s church courts. The archbishop of Canterbury, head of the highest church court in England ruled the marriage “null and absolutely void.” Henry married Anne, and she soon gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth.

10. England’s break with the Catholic Church was formalized by Parliament in 1534 by theAct of Supremacy. • Henry kept the new Church of England close to Catholic teachings in matters of doctrine. • When Henry died in 1547, his son Edward VI, son of Henry’s third wife Jane, became King. During the reign of Edward, church officials moved the Church of England, or Anglican Church in a Protestant direction. • Edward died when he was 16, and his sister, Mary became queen. Mary was a Catholic and wanted to restore England to Roman Catholicism. She became known as “Bloody Mary” because she had more than 300 Protestants burned as heretics.

11. Anabaptists – believed in the complete separation of church and state (government) • Anabaptists believed that a true Christian church was a voluntary community of adult believers who had undergone a spiritual rebirth and had then been baptized. • Anabaptists believed in following the example of early Christians. They believed all Christians to be equal. Each Anabaptist church chose its own minister or spiritual leader. • Anabaptists believed in complete separation of church an state. Government should not have any authority over religion. Anabaptists refused to hold political office or bear arms, because the commandment says “Thou shall not kill.”

12. Causes of the Reformation • The Renaissance – Humanism led people to question Church authority. They placed increasing faith in human reason. • Strong Monarchs – Strong national monarchs were emerging. Sometimes they increased their own power by supporting reformers against the Church. Example: Henry VIII • Problems in the Church – Some people felt that the church leaders were acting more like kings, fighting for power and wealth, than like representatives of God. People objected to the increased fees for marriages and baptisms and selling indulgences.

13. Counter-Reformation – a reform movement within the Catholic Church • Purpose – to strengthen the Catholic Church and to prevent conversions to Protestantism. • The Council of Trent – called together by Pope Paul III to guide the reform movement – began in 1545 and met off and on for 20 years • Reaffirmed traditional Catholic beliefs • Worked to end abuses • Ended the sale of indulgences • Created The Index – a list of banned books

14. Ignatius Loyola Founded the Society of Jesus – The Jesuits • Emphasized spiritual and moral discipline and strict obedience to Catholic authority • Saw themselves as the defenders of the Catholic faith • Jesuit missionaries spread Catholicism to Asia, Africa, and the Americas