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The Reformation
Objective: Analyze the causes, course, and
effects of the Reformation
7th grade World History
The Weakening of the Catholic
Church
• 2 major problems
weakening the
Catholic Church:
1. Corruption
within the Church
2. Political conflict
between the
monarchy and
papacy
Criticism of the Church
• The Church
owned 1/3 of the
lands and leaders
needed large
sums of money
• Church financial
spending angered
many people
• Corruption: The
clergy often
broke their vows
and some seemed
to ignore
Christian values
altogether.
Criticism of the Church:
How they earned Money
• Europeans paid taxes to the
Church, while the Church did not
have to pay any taxes to the
monarchy
• Objection to the sale of
indulgences, pardons from sins.
• Objection to simony - the buying
and selling of spiritual or holy
things
• Clergy spent large sums of money
on arts and own personal
pleasures.
Criticism of the Church:
corruption
• By the 1300s, many Catholics felt that the church
had become far too wordly and corrupt.
• Many priests, monks, and nuns broke their holy
vows not to marry or have children.
• Some church leaders behaved like royalty instead
of humble servants of God, living in elegant
palaces and wore jeweled robes.
Political Conflict:
The Great Schism
• In 1305, Pope Clement V
moved the center of the
Church to Avignon, France
• Since then, most of the popes
were French
• People felt the French king
was controlling the pope and
wanted to move the center
back to Rome.
The Split…
• The church split into two sides, one with a
center at Rome and the other at Avignon.
• Each side elected a pope who had same
powers – 2 popes
• This caused confusion and doubt
among the Christians and weakened the
Church
• In 1417 the two popes resigned and
church officials elected a new pope
based in Rome who began to unify the
Church again
Reformers…
• John Wycliffe (England)
questioned the pope’s
right to levy taxes and
appoint church officials
without the king’s approval.
Translated the Bible into
English vernacular.
• Desiderius Erasmus, a
humanist from Holland,
criticized the clergy for
neglecting Christian
values, but also criticized
reformers for trying to
divide the Church.
Martin Luther Confronts the
Church
 Martin Luther was a
German monk and
scholar who believed
that people could only
be saved through faith
in Christ and
disapproved of the sale
of indulgences
 In 1517 in Wittenberg,
Martin Luther wrote all
his complaints in his
Ninety-Five Theses and
nailed it to the door of
the Castle Church.
Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses
• Main Ideas of Lutheranism
• The Bible is the only
source of religious truth
and everyone should have
access to it
• People do not need the
clergy to interpret the Bible
• Salvation can be gained
through faith in Christ
(NOT the sale of
indulgences)
Protestants
• In 1529, some German Princes
united against Martin Luther and
were loyal to the Catholic Church
• Other Princes supported Luther
and signed a “protest”and
became known as “Protestants”,
term used for any Christians
who broke away from the
Catholic Church.
The Printed Word
• Printing of the Bible
from Latin to
vernacular, as a result
people could read
and interpret the
Bible for themselves
Luther’s Ideas Spread…
• Priests who agreed with
Luther preached his ideas
• Merchants spread Luther’s
ideas along trade routes
• Peasants used Luther’s
ideas to justify revolts
(humanism)
The Reformation Grows
• The Church of England
(The Anglican Church)
• King Henry VIII wanted to
divorce his wife, the pope
would not grant his divorce,
so Henry rejected the
power of the pope and
founded the Church of
• Calvinism
England (Anglican
Church
• John Calvin believed in
predestination – the belief
that a person’s salvation
is determined before
birth and cannot be
changed
Church Divisions
Christianity
Eastern Orthodox
Catholicism
Protestantism
Lutheran
Calvinist
Anglican