The Protestant Reformation

1. The Protestant Reformation

2. Causes of the Protestant Reformation Martin Luther Johannes Guttenberg Pope Leo X John Calvin • Selling of Indulgences. • Wealth of the clergy/church. • Abuse of power by the church. • Bible being printed in native languages. • Printing the 95 Theses. • Authority of the Pope is questioned. • Renaissance and questioning attitude.

3. Johann Guttenberg • Invented the movable type printed press. • The first book he prints is a version of the Bible…in German. • Now, everyone can read the Bible in their own language. • Printing Press: With raised block lettering, some ink, and a machine to press paper down onto it, you can mass produce anything written. • Flyers, documents, books, and newspapers start fanning across Europe in their own languages. • The population becomes more literate and more aware. • Also, ideas spread throughout Europe faster. • This single invention will drastically change Europe.

4. Indulgences • The paying of money to the Catholic Church to help a family member or loved one get from Purgatory to Heaven or to help buy your way in. • Some in the church see this as sinful and heretical because it is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible that this is a good practice.

5. Witch Hunts • A common practice, sadly, in Europe (and later America) in the 1400’s into about the 1700’s. • When stuff happened, the people would go looking for “a witch” to blame it on. • These were usually old women or people who weren’t in the “norm of society.” • The witch hunts also coincided with the Inquisitions.

6. The Inquisition • Used all over Europe, it was an attempt by the Catholic Church to solidify power through fear. • People were accused to be heretics and were tried accordingly and confessions were desired. • Torture and death were commonplace. “The Ordeal” • The Inquisition in Spain, ran by Torquemada, was especially brutal. • Inquisition in Italy was also strong because of proximity to the pope.

7. Question Time • 1. How did the printing press change things? • 2. How did the Renaissance aid the start of the Reformation? • 3. What are indulgences?

8. Martin Luther • A devout Catholic priest who, upon reading the Bible in German, began to question some of the aspects of the Catholic Church (indulgences for one). • As he questions the authorities, he is deemed a heretic and is excommunicated. • His followers, called Lutherans, help initiate the Reformation.

9. The 95 Theses • Formal statements that Luther nailed to the door of the church in Wittenberg. • Among the thesis were the ideas that: The Catholic Church have become “pardon merchants”, faith is given by the grace of God alone and not money, all church teachings are based on the Bible…not the pope, all people in faith are equal and do not need a pope or bishop telling them what to do. • Because of the printing press, these were circulated throughout Germany and then into Europe…and the Reformation spreads.

10. Pope Leo X • The pope during the time of Luther. • He excommunicates him in 1520 and will later excommunicate Luther’s followers. • He calls on Charles the V to stamp out the heretics. • His attempts to end the Reformation, by force and threats, helps it spread further.

11. Charles V • The Holy Roman Emperor, king of Spain and Austria. • He is also a member of the Hapsburg family. • His territory consists of the American colonies of Latin America and most of Central Europe. • He is a defender of Catholicism and moves to crush Luther and his followers. He believes he is following God’s will. • His actions start warfare in Europe.

12. The Peasant’s Revolt • In 1524, many of the little kingdoms in Germany begin to support Luther. • Instead of wanting to deal with the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor, the people rise up and support Luther. • Peasants went on a rampage burning down manors and landowner’s palaces. • Luther urges them to stop and later supports princes in their stopping the revolt by force. • Over 100,000 peasants are killed in the reprisals and many peasants turn away from Luther.

13. Protestant • Any Christian who is not Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Mormon. • Protestants “protest” the position of the pope. • Lutherans would be the first Protestant branch. • Denominations include: Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Quakers, Shakers, Presbyterians, Amish, Mennonite to name a few.

14. Peace of Augsburg • After almost 30 years of fighting between Catholics and Lutherans, a treaty is signed called the Peace of Augsburg. • It allows Lutherans to exist as a separate Christian entity. • The peace states that the religion of the country will be decided by the religion of the ruler: whatever the ruler is, the nation will be also.

15. Question Time • 4. Why did Martin Luther have a problem with indulgences? • 5. What is a Protestant? • 6. What threat did Protestants present to the Catholic Church?

16. Henry VIII • English king who wanted a male heir. • When his wife, Catherine of Aragon (sister of Charles V) couldn’t provide a son, he wanted to divorce her. • He asked the pope for an annulment. • Because divorce is highly frowned upon by the Catholic Church, the pope could annul a marriage, meaning that it never happened. • The pope refused to grant Henry’s request.

17. Church of England • Known as the Anglican Church (or Episcopalian in America). • Henry VIII makes up this church so he can divorce his wife. • It is basically and English version of the Catholic Church---minus the pope. • This became official in 1534 when Henry VIII declared in the Act of Supremacy (by a vote of Parliament) that he is in charge of the church in England and not the pope. • Henry will have six wives in his quest to get a son.

18. Henry’s Wives • Catherine of Aragon: Divorced. • Anne Boleyn: Beheaded for witchcraft and adultery. • Jane Seymour: Died in childbirth giving birth to Edward VI. • Anne of Cleves: Divorced. • Catherine Howard: Beheaded for adultery. • Catherine Parr: Henry’s last wife.

19. John Calvin • A French priest who’s popularity flourishes in France, Switzerland, and Scotland. • He teaches the doctrine of predestination and that people are sinful by nature. • His followers are called Calvinists. • In America they are called Presbyterians. • In France, they are Huguenots. • Predestination is the religious doctrine that everything in our lives has already been predestined, or written out, by God. Everything is pre-willed by God to happen and the ones that God will save have already been chosen.

20. Anabaptists • Sect that grows up in Europe. • They believe in a separation of church and state. • They refuse to fight in wars. • They also believe that you should be baptized as adults and babies. • They become the forerunners of the Amish and Mennonites in America as well as influence Baptists and Quakers.

21. Question Time • 7. Why did Henry VIII divorce his wife? • 8. What did John Calvin preach?

22. The Catholic Reformation • In response to the Reformation, Catholics try to be proactive to regain their control. • They try to end the abuses that have plagued the church. • St. Ignatius of Loyola: A Catholic reformer. He founds the religious Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). He spent a lot of time devoted to prayer, meditation, and personal reflection. • Jesuits: Members of the Catholic order Society of Jesus. Many become missionaries in the New World. They also found many colleges in Europe (and later on the US). They also help stop Protestantism from growing by showing an enthusiasm for Jesus and the church.

23. The Council of Trent • An agreement reached by the pope and Catholic cardinals in 1545. • It said that: The church’s interpretation of the Bible is final…anyone who preaches their opinion on it is a heretic, Christians need faith and good works for salvation, Indulgences are a good show of faith but selling them is bad, and that the Church and Bible are equally powerful authorities for guiding life.

24. The Defenestration of Prague • Lutherans had been gaining influence in Bohemia. The Catholics wanted to stop this. • On May 23, 1618, the Protestants of Prague invaded the royal palace, seized two of the king’s ministers who were a strict Roman Catholic who were trying to get rid of Protestant influences in the court, and threw them out a window into a pile of “stuff”. • This sets in motion the Thirty Years War.

25. The Thirty Years War • Fought between 1618-1648, it was a war fought between Catholic and Protestant forces in Europe, fighting mostly on German soil. • For the most part, it was Spain, Austria, Bavaria, and The Holy Roman Empire vs. France, Sweden, England, and Denmark. • Following the Defenestration, the new Holy Roman Emperor asks Spain to help crush the Bohemian revolt. • Bohemia pleads for allies across Europe to come to their defense. • After initial setbacks, the Catholics capture Bohemia and push into German lands. Albrecht von Wallenstein led the Catholic armies throughout the Netherlands in Germany crushing Protestant forces. • He pushed back a Danish intervention and all looked well for the Catholics until Gustavus Adolphus, the king of Sweden, leads his army in 1630 into the fight to protect Lutherans.

26. The Thirty Years War • A peace treaty in 1635 could not be signed because the French were scared of the growing powers of the Hapsburgs and they prevented the peace from happening. • The Peace of Prague ended the fighting within the Holy Roman Empire, but fighting continued between Austria, Spain, Sweden, and France. • The war finally ends in 1648. • It is believed that 30% of the German civilian population died during the war from disease and hunger. Germany was left a weak and battered land. • France was left as the dominant power in Europe following the war. • No major religious war has been fought in Europe since.

27. Peace of Westphalia • Peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years War. • The treaty said that Switzerland and the Netherlands are now fully independent nations. • Calvinism is now a legal religion (with same tenets as Peace of Augsburg). • Also, the little kingdoms inside the Holy Roman Empire have more independence and can conduct foreign and internal relations as they see fit; which weakens the authority of the HRE.

29. Question Time • 9. What were the effects of the Thirty Years War? • 10. What was offered at the Peace of Westphalia?