Download Protestant Reformation Causes for the Reformation Abuses of the

Protestant Reformation
Causes for the Reformation
1. Abuses of the Roman Catholic Church exemplified by the sale of indulgences and other abuses:
a. The sale of indulgences, buying pardons for sins by contributing money to the Catholic Church.
b. Corrupt high church officials
c. Popes, Bishops, and clergy who did not follow church teachings regarding marriage and family
d. Uneducated clergy at the parish levels (also, during the 14th plague, many local clergy fled villages and
local parishes rather than stay and help people.
2. Early reformers such as Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, and Savonarola.
3. Increased secularism
a. The Renaissance emphasized secularism and humanism (the importance of the individual) and these
ideas challenged established church authority.
b. Increased conflict between the Pope and kings as nation-states grew more organized and powerful.
c. Invention of the printing press made books and information more available and helped spread secular
culture.
4. Actions of Martin Luther
a. In 1517, Luther, a Roman Catholic priest and professor of religion at the University of Wittenberg, nailed
his 95 Theses on the door of the Church in Wittenberg, Germany. These 95 Theses were statements
criticizing the practices of the Catholic Church, particularly the sale of indulgences.
b. After publicly posting the 95 Theses, Luther invited debate about his concerns. He also continued to
print and publish articles in German about the abuses of the Church.
c. Martin Luther began to ask for a full reform of the Catholic Church challenging the priesthood, the
authority of the Pope, interpretation of the scripture, and the need for clergy.
d. Pope Leo X banned the sale of Luther’s works, tried to get Luther to recant (say he did not “mean” it)
and eventually excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church.
e. Finally Luther was called before a council of princes and others called the Diet of Worms to try again to
get him to quit criticizing the Catholic Church. Luther refused again and was declared an outlaw.
f. He went into hiding and translated the New Testament of the Bible into German so that common people
could read it for themselves
Characteristics/Main Ideas
1. Encouraged the belief that people did not have to use a priest to intervene between God and the person.
2. Encouraged people to read and interpret scripture (The Bible) for themselves and created translations of these
scriptures in the vernacular (spoken languages) rather than in Latin.
3. Challenged the authority of the church to pardon/forgive sins based on money contributions.
4. Supported a continuation Renaissance humanism that valued the worth of the individual.
Effects of the Protest Reformation
1. New Protestant religions (churches) throughout Europe (continuing to today).
2. Religious wars and persecution of various groups.
3. Strengthening of kings and state governments at the expense of the Church.
Catholic Church/Pope (the Church response)
1. Pope Leo X Excommunicated Luther in 1520 for not stopping his protest.
2. Began the Counter Reformation to correct some of the abuses of the Church and keep Catholics in the Church
(rather than leaving for various Protestant denominations).
3. The Inquisition persecuted non-believers.
4. Catholic missionaries, usually Jesuit priests, began to spread teachings of the Catholic Church and convert
people to Catholicism – particularly in the Americas and other colonies. Catholic schools were established
throughout Europe and other areas.
Local response throughout Europe
1. Germany and the Holy Roman Empire
 German peasants, encouraged by Luther’s protest against church demanded an end to serfdom and
feudal contracts. The Peasants Revolt of 1524 is an example in which 100,000 people died. (Luther was
horrified and spoke out against this).
 Many Germans broke away from the Catholic Church. German princes split between Lutheran and
Catholic doctrines and established state religions.
 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, went to war against breakaway princes to try to keep them Catholic.
 Wars of Religion in Germany lasted from 1529 – 1547.
 The Peace of Augsburg 1555 allowed individual German princes to decide the official state religion for
the areas they controlled.
2. Reformation in England
 Henry VIII as King of England used this opportunity to break away from the Catholic Church and form the
Church in England, with the Monarch (Henry VIII at first) as the Head of the Church. This Protestant
Church became the Anglican Church
 Initially this protest came when Henry VIII wanted to divorce (not allowed in the Catholic
Church) his wife Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.
 Henry VIII used this opportunity to confiscate rich Church lands and properties for the state.
 Henry married a number of women in an effort to produce a male heir and strengthen his power in
England.
 Henry VIII’s successors touched off wars of religion in England that resulted in persecution of both
Protestants and Catholics.
 Edward VI maintained Protestantism but died young.
 Mary I returned England to Catholicism and persecuted Protestants.
 Elizabeth I (Protestant) persecuted Catholics in England and that led to religious conflicts that
lasted until the Glorious Revolution in 1688.
3. Other Reformers
 John Calvin.
 John Knox Scotland.
 Established Presbyterian Church in Scotland, run by a council of elders, who influenced James VI
(James I).
 More groups and individuals formed their own denominations which resulted in multiple churches all
over Europe (Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Huguenots, Puritans, and so on).