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Reformation Coach Grgurich Unit 5
Background The Reformation was a movement during the 16th century that tried to reform the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther was a major figure in starting the Reformation by writing 95 Theses and posting them on the door of a church. It led to the establishment of Protestant religions in Western Europe.
Start of Reformation In Europe, groups of Catholics were dissatisfied with the rituals and wealth of the Church. They questioned the authority of the pope as the guide for ultimate spiritual direction and eventually separated from the Church. These groups are now known as Protestants.
Beginning of the Reformation The recent invention of Gutenberg's moveable type printing press made Bibles available to more people than ever before. An improvement in literacy gave many the means to take advantage of new available literature. Both factors helped Protestants spread their messages across Europe. The division of the Catholic Church was one result; another was the idea that faith was individual to each person. As in the Renaissance, the idea of individualism was important and began to change European's beliefs. The concept of individualism spread from religion into other aspects of life like economics, politics, and relations in society.
Trouble in the Catholic Church Tax policies: the Catholic Church collected taxes from subjects and sent a large portion of those revenues to the Pope in Italy. Churches did not pay taxes to the nation that the church was in, frustrating monarchs.
Trouble Con’t Indulgences were a further aspect of Catholic policy that angered many. An indulgence can be described as a policy in which the punishment of a sin can be fully or partially remitted. During the late Renaissance period, one way a person could earn an indulgence was through a donation to the Church. The reformers believed this policy led to corruption because, in essence, a wealthy person could bypass punishment or atonement of a sin by donating a large amount of money to the Church. Though this practice helped the Church earn more money, many saw indulgences as a way of "buying" one's way into heaven.
Important Figures Martin Luther: primary figure in the Reformation. He printed and posted 95 Theses on the door of a Catholic church. The Theses challenged the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and sparked a debate that led to the development of the Protestants. DesideriusErasmus: a Dutch philosopher and theologian who influenced Martin Luther. He was a Roman Catholic who believed that faith in the atonement of Christ was the only guarantee of eternal life, instead of in the sacraments and rituals of the church. Leo X: pope of the Catholic Church from 1513–1521. He is famous in history for selling indulgences to raise money for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. When Martin Luther criticized these actions, Leo excommunicated him in 1521. Ignatius of Loyola: Catholic priest who founded the Society of Jesus (also called the Jesuits) in 1540. The Jesuits were an important part of the Counter Reformation, teaching Catholic beliefs and fighting the Protestant Reformation. Loyola died in 1556, and he was declared a Catholic saint on March 12, 1622, by Pope Gregory XV.
Figures Con’t John Calvin: French theologian and namesake of Calvinism. Taught that people are all at the mercy of god and that God accomplishes the salvation of sinners through their obedience of faith. John Wesley: the founder of the Methodist movement. Wesley taught that a person could be saved by faith in God, and a person had the ability to reach heaven by choosing to believe in God. William Tyndale: English scholar who translated the Bible into the English of his day. It was the first translation to be made from the original Hebrew and Greek, and was the first translation to take advantage of print. He was also a chief promoter of the Reformation in England.
95 Theses The 95 Theses by Martin Luther is often considered the spark that ignited the Reformation. This work challenged the Catholic Church on its teachings regarding penance (repentance of sin), indulgences (removal of guilt), and the authority of the pope. This led to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther posted these documents on the doors of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. However, Luther did agree with the Catholic Church's practices of the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist (holy communion).
Spread of Protestantism Martin Luther and his followers believed that the Pope had too much authority. The recent invention of the printing press helped Luther spread his message across Europe. The division of the Catholic church was one result; another was the idea that faith was individual to each person. This idea of individualism spread from religion into other aspects of society, like economics, politics, and societal relations. European nations became Protestant with the government as the authority in the land, and the church subordinate to civil authority. This idea allowed the church its own form of governing, usually as a group of church officials, but required the church to follow government rules and laws.
Treaties As Protestantism spread through Europe, tensions arose into fighting on the question of the relationship of government and religion. Two important influences in this relationship were the treaties of Augsburg and Westphalia. The Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555, was a treaty that established a division of religion within the Holy Roman Empire. Under the treaty, Lutheranism was recognized as an official religion in Germany, and the prince would be able to choose the religion of the area that he controlled. Tensions continued and another agreement was eventually reached.
Treaties Con’t The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 recognized other Protestant denominations, like Calvinism, and each individual was able to decide on their religion. Westphalia emphasized individualism as well as establishing the idea of religious toleration.
English Reformation The English Reformation began after the pope denied Henry VIII's request for an annulment of his first marriage. Angered by the pope's decision, Henry VIII decided to pull England away from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England. Henry VIII's second daughter Elizabeth I eventually acquired the throne and helped to further establish the Protestant religion in England and to break ties with the Catholic Church.
Cathloic Reformation Also called the Counter-Reformation, this was the Catholic Church's attempt to address the issues raised by Protestants. In the Council of Trent, the Church stated that indulgences would no longer be sold for money, but they also stated that all Catholic teachings on faith were still true. One important member of the Counter Reformation was Ignatius Loyola. Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, which is an organization that focuses on education and missionary efforts.
Europe’s Split Catholic: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Poland and parts of France remained Catholic countries after the Reformation. Protestant: Germany, England, Switzerland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark became Protestant countries.
