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The Protestant Reformation
Note Entry # 41
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Humanism a variety of ethical theory and practice that
emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human
fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the
importance of belief in God.
Secularism a system of political or social
philosophy that rejects all forms of religious faith
and worship.
These both led to criticism of the Catholic Church and
its practices.
By 1500 people were calling for change in the way the
Church taught and practiced Christianity.
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The church had become more and more
involved in worldly politics.
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Popes competed with Italian princes for political
power.
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They fought wars to protect the Papal States.
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They plotted against powerful monarchs who sought
to control papal lands.
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They lived in luxury, supported the arts, and hired
artists to beautify churches.
To finance their lifestyles, church officials
charged fees for services such as baptisms and
marriages.
Things are a changin’…
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As early as the 1300s, John Wycliff
had begun protests against the Church in
England.
He believed the church should not be
rich and the Bible should be written in
the vernacular.
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Jan Hus led a similar protest
against the Church in
what is today the
Czech Republic.
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He wrote a pamphlet that
stated no pope or bishop
had the right to take up
the sword in the name of
the Church
He was executed for
heresy in 1415.
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The challenges led to a split in the Church
that became known as The Protestant
Reformation.
A monk named Martin Luther
began the Reformation.
Luther believed that people could be made
good by faith alone.
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This became known as justification by faith.
CONFLICT
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Luther’s ideas bring him into direct conflict with
the Church.
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The Catholic Church had been selling indulgences, or passes
out of purgatory, to raise money for building projects.
Luther preached against the sale of indulgences.
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He did this while he was the priest in the town of
Wittenberg.
To get the Church to listen to his complaints he nailed the 95
Theses to the front door of the Church.
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All important notices were placed here and couldn’t be
removed until they had been addressed.
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Copies of the 95 Theses were printed and
spread all over Germany.
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This was possible because of the invention of the
printing press by Johannes Gutenberg.
The sale of indulgences dropped
and that got the Pope’s attention.
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The Pope sent representatives to
ask Luther to withdraw his complaints.
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When Luther refused he was
excommunicated by Pope Leo X in
1521.
Shortly after the excommunication a group
of princes (called a diet) met in the city of
Worms.
They asked Luther to recant his Theses.
 He refused and was condemned a heretic.
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Lutheranism
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After the events at Worms Luther began
the first Protestant faith—Lutheranism.
In Lutheranism there were three
important teachings:
Salvation by faith alone: people can be saved by
faith alone and no amount of good works can give
them salvation.
 Religious truth and authority are only found in the
Bible.
 The Lutheran Church is a community of believers,
not a hierarchy like the Catholic Church.
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Some German princes saw Lutheranism as a
chance to throw off the rule of both the Church
and the Holy Roman emperor.
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Some saw an opportunity to seize Church property in
their territories.
Others embraced the new church
out of nationalistic loyalty.
Many were tired of paying to support clergy in Italy.
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Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor)tried to
force the German princes to return to the
Catholic Church.
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In 1555, after several brief wars, Charles and
the princes signed the Peace of Augsburg.
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Under this treaty, each prince chose a religion for
his realm—either Catholic or Lutheran.
Most in the north chose Lutheranism;
most in the south chose Catholicism.