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Unit 3 Study Guide
REFORMATION (WHII-3)
For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church had little competition in religious thought and action. The
resistance of the church to change led to the Protestant Reformation, which resulted in the birth of new
political and economic institutions.
What were some of the conflicts that challenged the authority of the Church in Rome? (3a, b)
__________ (meaning an extremely high rate of interest).
_____________ and _____________ nobility disliked Italian domination of the Church.
The Church’s great _____________ power and ____________ caused conflict.
Church _______________ and the sale of indulgences* were widespread and caused conflict.
 Merchant wealth challenged the Church’s view of



 Dissenters (prior to Luther) were critical of the Catholic Church
o
_____________________- an English priest who argued that the Bible is the highest
religious authority. He translated the Bible into English so people could guide themselves in
religious matters. He was denounced by the Pope, and his followers were persecuted.
o
___________________- (also known as John) a Bohemian religious leader who
advocated ideas similar to Wycliffe. Huss was arrested, tried as a heretic and burned at the stake.
*Expanded information: In the Catholic church an indulgence is a method of obtaining forgiveness of sins—oftentimes
by the recitation of selected prayers. As an example of the abuse of this power from church officials, “… in 1517, Pope
Leo X offered indulgences for those who gave alms to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, a situation that took on the
appearance of ‘selling indulgences’.” (from—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence)
VIEWS AND ACTIONS OF MARTIN LUTHER, JOHN CALVIN, HENRY VII, AND ELIZABETH I (3a)
Religious Leader
Views
Actions
________ alone
__________ as the ultimate
 Salvation by
Martin Luther
(the Lutheran tradition) 
King Henry VIII
(Church of England)
________________
________ before God
 Predestination
John Calvin
 Faith revealed by living a
(the Calvinist tradition)

 Birth of the
Church
authority
 All humans
 95 theses
___________________
__________ ethic
 Dismissed the authority of the
____________ in Rome
 Expansion of the
______________ Movement
 Divorced
____________
 Broke with
 Headed the national church in England
 Appropriated lands and wealth of the
______________________
Church in England
Elizabeth I
(the Anglican tradition)
 As queen, Elizabeth was head of the

____________* Church
Tolerance for ___________
*meaning English or relating to England
 Expansion and colonialism
 Obtained victory over the
______________________
(1588)
Unit 3 Study Guide
Expanded Information:
 The 95 theses were statements written by Martin Luther against indulgences and other Church practices and,
according to legend, were first posted on the Wittenberg University chapel door. They were later printed in
German and distributed to the populace—leading to support for Luther and thus alarming the Catholic Church.
(Note the role that the Guttenberg printing press had in the spread of ideas during the Reformation.)
 John Calvin believed in predestination or the idea that God had determined in advance who would achieve
salvation. Calvin reformed the city of Geneva, Switzerland and made it into a powerful center of Protestantism.
 King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his first wife because she did not provide him with a male heir. When the
Catholic Church would not grant him a divorce, he broke with the Church in Rome. Henry stopped internal
dissent by restricting the religious choice to only the Church of England of which he declared himself to be the
head. He retained most of the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church during his reign, but he then dissolved all
Catholic monasteries and sold their land and possessions (which amounted to almost one-fourth of the land in
England). Henry would marry five more times—executing two of those wives and divorcing another. His
second wife was the mother of Elizabeth I.
 Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII. She was twenty-five when she became queen in 1558 and ruled
successfully for forty-four years. Elizabeth inherited the conflicts between the Catholics and the Protestants
which she worked with successfully through compromises. The Anglican Church under Elizabeth followed a
moderate Protestantism that satisfied most people in England. During Elizabeth’s reign England began to
explore and colonize. Elizabeth sponsored Sir Francis Drake and the colony of Virginia in the New World was
named for Elizabeth, the “Virgin Queen”. Philip II of Spain sent the Spanish Armada to try and invade England
during Elizabeth’s reign. England was able to successfully defeat the Armada in 1588.
 The Reformation helped remove the stigma which the Catholic Church had traditionally placed on money-
lending with rates of interest (usury). Calvinism encouraged the investment of money by promoting luxury and
self-indulgence as vices with thrift as a virtue. The discoveries in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
opened new trade routes all over the world further enabling capitalism opportunities.
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL ISSUES IN THE REFORMATION (3b)
The Reformation had its roots in theology, but it led to important economic and political changes. Religious
differences and hatreds caused war and destruction.
Reformation in Germany
(This column contains expanded information.)
 Princes in Northern Germany converted
to ____________________,
ending the authority of the Pope in their
states.
 The Hapsburg family was the most powerful Roman Catholic family
in Europe—with the position of the Holy Roman Emperor being filled
in this time period by Hapsburgs. Even though they were a royal
German family, they ruled in numerous European states from the late
Middle Ages until the 20th century.
_______________ family
 The Thirty Years’ War was a series of conflicts between 1618 and
and the authority of the Holy Roman
1648 mostly in the territory of today’s Germany. While the clash
Empire continued to support the Roman
between the Protestants and Catholics was one of the main reasons for
Catholic Church.
the war, there were many other factions and conflicts during the war—
 Conflict between Protestants and
including international conflicts, a German civil war for the selfCatholics resulted in devastating wars
preservation of the Hapsburg dynasty, and a religious war among
Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists. When France entered the Thirty
(e.g., __________________
Years War on the side of the Protestants that struggle changed from
War).
religious to political. The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty
Years War.
 The
Unit 3 Study Guide
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL ISSUES IN THE REFORMATION (continued) (3b)
Reformation in France
 The Protestant Huguenots were greatly influenced by Calvin. The
 The Catholic monarchy granted
Protestant Huguenots freedom of
worship by the ____________
___________ (later revoked).
 Cardinal Richelieu changed the
focus of the Thirty Years’ War from
a religious to a ____________
conflict.
TO HELP YOU REMEMBER—
 the Hapsburgs were Catholic
 the Huguenots were Protestant
NOTE: Alphabetically the
Hapsburgs come before the
Huguenots—and Catholics are
alphabetically before Protestants.
Huguenots made up a small percentage of the population but a large
percentage of the nobility. When one of the Huguenots (a Protestant)
became King (Henry IV in 1589) he converted to Catholicism when he
realized that he would never be accepted otherwise. He later issued the
Edict of Nantes which gave the Huguenots the right to worship as
Protestants and returned many of their civil privileges. With this Edict
the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598) ended. Almost a century later
King Henry IV’s grandson, Louis XIV repealed the Edict making
Protestantism illegal in France. At this time many Protestants left
France for Great Britain, Germany, and other countries draining France
of many talented and resourceful people.
 Cardinal Richelieu was the de facto ruler of France after Henry IV’s
young son became king. Though Richelieu was Catholic he supported
the Protestants in the Thirty Years War because he felt the greater enemy
of France was Spain (a Catholic country). Internally, he captured the
holdings of the Huguenots who were seen as a threat to the king’s power.
He established a system of government with centralized taxes and
selected administrators who gained control over all parts of France.
CATHOLIC REFORMATION (3b)
 Counter Reformation
 The ____________________________ reaffirmed most Church doctrine and practices
 The sale of indulgences was stopped by the Council of Trent.
 The Society of Jesus (The ____________) was founded to spread Catholic doctrine around the world.
 The _________________ was used to reinforce Catholic doctrine.
 The Inquisition was a church court used against heretics. During this time period the church tried to
stop anyone from expressing an opinion different from the teachings of the church. (Those supporting
such opinions were known as heretics.) The church would oftentimes seek out the heretics for
prosecution and punishments, often by burning them at the stake.
A CHANGING EUROPE (3c)
At first the Reformation divided the countries of Europe on religious principles, leading to religious
intolerance. Power in most European states was concentrated in the monarch. Gradually religious
toleration emerged, along with democratic thought.
CHANGING CULTURAL VALUES,
TRADITIONS, AND PHILOSOPHIES
 Growth of secularism*
 Growth of individualism
 Eventual growth of religious
______________
*secularism—political or social
philosophy that is not religious
ROLE OF THE PRINTING PRESS
 Growth of literacy was stimulated by the
_____________ printing
press.
_________
__________.
 The Bible was printed in English,
, and
 These factors had an important impact on spreading the ideas of the
__________________ and __________________.
Unit 3 Study Guide
1. What are the reasons that people
7. What is Predestination? Who first
challenged the authority of the Catholic
thought of it?
Church? (Think IMAD)
a.
b.
c.
8. What did the Edict of Nantes do?
9. How did Cardinal Richelieu keep France
strong?
d.
2. What are the key beliefs of Luther and
most Protestants? (Think FUN)
a.
b.
c.
3. How did Catholics think one earned
salvation?
10. What is the correct order of the
following events?
____ Luther pins the 95 Thesis
____ Tetzel sells indulgences
____ Henry VIII breaks from the church
____ Council of Trent
____ Calvin establishes a theocracy
11. What is the primary location of the
following after the reformation (c. 1600 AD):
a. Catholicism
b. Lutheranism
c. Calvinism
4. How did Luther challenge the church?
d. Anglicanism
5. Who do Protestants (Luther and Calvin)
believe can accurate interpret the Bible?
6. Charles V and his Hapsburg family was a
supporter of what religion (denomination)?
12. What are the results of the Reformation:
a.
b.
c.
d.