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Explore how Martin Luther's teachings sparked the Reformation, paving the way for reformers like Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin. Discover the impact of their ideas on Europe's religious landscape and the development of new Protestant movements.
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Spread of Luther’s Ideas • Prior to Luther, many people who were frustrated with the state of the Church could only rally for reform from within. • Luther’s teachings gave them an avenue for change and the Reformation quickly spread throughout Europe. • Two men, Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, will become major figureheads for this early religious Reformation.
Ulrich Zwingli • Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) lived in Zurich, Switzerland. • Zwingli’s teachings relied less on Church tradition and more on the Bible. • When Luther began his attacks on the Church Zwingli thought this was the perfect time to break free from Rome. • He convinced the city council of Zurich to support his teachings and break away from the Church.
Zwingli • Zwingli outlined his ideas in his Sixty-Seven Conclusions. These ideas included: • The rejection of monastic life • The rejection of the idea of purgatory • The rejection of clerical celibacy • The belief that only God can forgive sins.
Zwingli • Religious services in Zurich changed drastically once they separated from the Church. • Services no longer included the mass and religious icons disappeared from churches. • Some of Zwingli’s ideas, particularly about the Lord’s Supper, sharply contrasted with Luther’s.
Zwingli • In 1531 a civil war broke out in Switzerland between Catholics and the followers of Zwingli. • Zwingli was wounded in a battle and captured by Catholic forces who then killed him, quartered him, and burned his body. • The civil war ended with a treaty stating that Zurich would remain Protestant and the other Swiss states (called Cantons) would remain Catholic.
John Calvin • John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French-born lawyer and priest who fled to Geneva, Switzerland to escape religious persecution. • Geneva was a city that reflected the worse of Rome at that time: immoral behavior, crime, gambling, excesses, and more. • Calvin sought to use his ideas of the Church to reform people’s behavior. • His ideas turned to be unpopular and before long he was run out of town.
Calvin • Calvin left Geneva and traveled to Strasbourg where he continued his studies in theology. • While Calvin was busy working and writing in Strasbourg, Geneva fell in to disarray. • The city council, feeling it had no alternative, asked Calvin to return and restore order.
Calvin • Calvin had the council pass a new constitution for the Church in Geneva. • It also turned Geneva into a theocracy, or government run by Church leaders.
Calvin • In 1536, Calvin published the Institutions of the Christian Religion in which he set forth his religious beliefs. • He began working immediately to establish a set of laws and guidelines for the people of Geneva to follow. • Those people who did not follow his new Church were punished, imprisoned, tortured, banished, or executed.
Calvin’s Church “In ethical matters, Calvin established a new and inimitable code which made his followers instantly recognizable. The good Calvinist family was to abhor all forms of pleasure and frivolity – dancing, songs, drinking, gaming, flirtation, bright clothes, entertaining books, loud language, even vivacious gestures. Their life was to be marked by sobriety, self-restraint, hard work, thrift, and, above all, godliness. … To the old Catholic burden of sin they added the new burden of keeping up appearances. In art, they were to avoid all direct portrayal of the Deity, all mystical symbols and allegories. They were to find the sole source of joy and guidance in the daily reading of the Bible. Here was what the English-speaking world would come to know as the Puritan.” Norman Davis, Europe: A History
Calvin • Calvin agreed with Luther on the ideas of faith and knowledge from the Bible. • Calvin also believed in predestination, the idea that God had long ago determined who would gain salvation. • To Calvinists, the world was divided into two kinds of people – saints and sinners.
Calvinism • Reformers from all over Europe visited Geneva and returned home to spread Calvin’s ideas. • By the end of the 16th Century, Calvinism had taken root in Germany, France, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland. • These new threats to the Catholic Church set off religious wars throughout Europe.
Anabaptists • Anabaptism means “one who baptizes again.” • Anabaptists rejected the idea of infant baptism and believed that only adults could make the decision to be a Christian. • Because of their rejection of a significant amount of Church practices, the Anabaptists will be branded as heretics and persecuted. • The Amish and Mennonites are direct descendants of this movement.
Big Ideas • Luther’s writings and teachings were the initial spark to the Reformation. • Other religious scholars, unhappy with the practices of the Church, used the opportunity created by Luther to begin their own sects of Christianity. • Violence between these new groups of Christians and the Church broke out in communities all over Europe.
