Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation, begun by Martin Luther in the early sixteenth century, divided the western Church into Catholic and Protestant groups.
Religion on the Eve of the Reformation
People were calling for reform in part because of corruption in the Catholic Church. Between 1450 and 1520 a series of popes failed to meet the Church’s spiritual needs. They were more concerned with the political interests of the Papal States. Julius II, the “warrior-pope,” even led armies against his enemies. Many people were disgusted with him and the Catholic Church.
Many Church officials used their offices to advance their careers and wealth, and many local priests seemed ignorant of their spiritual duties, especially instructing the faithful on achieving salvation—acceptance into Heaven. As a result, obtaining salvation became almost mechanical, for example by collecting relics. Venerating a saint could gain an indulgence—release form all or part of punishment for sin—according to the Church of the time. Most people found the Church unconcerned with their spiritual needs. This environment helps explain Luther’s ideas.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a monk and professor at the University of Wittenberg, where he lectured on the Bible. Through his study of the Bible, Luther came to reject the Catholic teaching that both faith and good works were necessary for salvation. He believed human deeds were powerless to affect God and that salvation was through faith alone. God grants salvation to the faithful because he is merciful. The idea of justification (being made right before God) by faith alone is the Protestant Reformation’s chief teaching. For all Protestants, the Bible, not the Church, became the primary source of religious truth.
The widespread selling of indulgences upset Luther. This practice simply harmed people’s chances of salvation, he believed. Angered by the practice, in 1517 Luther posted his “Ninety-five Theses” on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. They attacked abuses in selling indulgences. Thousands of copies were printed. In 1520 Luther called for the German princes to overthrow the papacy and establish a reformed German church. Luther wanted to keep only two sacraments—baptism and Communion—and called for the clergy to marry. Luther continued to emphasize his new doctrine of salvation.
The Church excommunicated Luther in 1521. He was summoned to appear before the imperial diet (legislative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire in the city of Worms. The emperor Charles V thought he could get Luther to change his ideas. Luther refused, which outraged the emperor. The Edict of Worms made Luther an outlaw in the empire. His books were to be burned and Luther delivered to the emperor.
Luther’s local ruler, however, protected him. Luther’s religious movement soon became a revolution. It gained support from many German rulers, who took control of Catholic churches and formed state churches supervised by the government. Luther set up new services to replace the Mass, featuring Bible readings, preaching the word of God, and song. His doctrine became knownas Lutheranism, the first Protestant faith.
The Zwinglian Reformation and Calvinism
Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor was forced to make peace with the Lutheran princes, which he did in 1555 with the Peace of Augsburg. It accepted the division of Christianity within Germany.
German states could choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism. All states would have the same legal rights. Rulers could choose their subjects’ religion. The settlement did not recognize the right of subjects to choose their own religion, however, so it did not recognize religious tolerance for individuals.
With the Peace of Augsburg, the ideal of Christian unity was lost forever. Huldrych Zwingli, a priest in Zürich, began a new Christian group in Switzerland. Relics and images were forbidden in the city, and a new service of scripture reading, prayer, and sermons replaced the Catholic Mass. The Swiss and German reformers sought an alliance, but they could not agree on the meaning of the sacrament of Communion. In 1531 Zwingli was killed in a war between Protestant and Catholic states in Switzerland. John Calvin assumed the leadership of Protestantism in Switzerland.
John Calvin fled Catholic France for Switzerland after he converted to Protestantism. He placed a new emphasis on the all-powerful nature of God—what Calvin called the “power, grace, and glory of God.” This led him to the important idea of predestination, which meant that God in an “eternal decree” had determined in advance who would be saved (the elect) and who would be damned (the reprobate). Calvin’s followers came to believe they were certain of salvation and were doing God’s work on Earth. Calvinism became a dynamic, activist faith. In 1536 Calvin began to reform the city of Geneva. He created a church government and a body called the Consistory, which enforced moral discipline. He set up a court to oversee the moral life and doctrinal purity of Genevans. People who deviated could be punished, even for such “crimes” as dancing and gambling. Calvin’s success in Geneva made it a powerful center of Protestantism. Missionaries trained in Geneva were sent throughout the world. By the mid-sixteenth century,
Calvinism had replaced Lutheranism as the most important form of Protestantism.
Catholic Reformation
By the mid-sixteenth century, things did not look good for Catholicism due to the spread of Protestantism. The Catholic Church revitalized in the sixteenth century for three chief reasons: the Jesuits, reform of the papacy, and the Council of Trent.
A Spanish nobleman named Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits. The pope recognized Loyola and his followers as a religious order in 1540. Jesuits took a special vow of obedience to the pope. They used education to spread their message. They were successful in restoring Catholicism to parts of Germany and eastern Europe, and in spreading it to other parts of the world.
Pope Paul III saw the need to reform the papacy and appointed a Reform Commission in 1537 to determine the Church’s ills. It blamed the corrupt policies of the popes. Pope Paul III also convened the Council of Trent.
In 1545 a group of cardinals, archbishops, abbots, and theologians met in Trent. The council met off and on there for 18 years. Its final decrees reaffirmed traditional Catholic teachings in opposition to Protestant beliefs. Both faith and works were needed for salvation. The seven sacraments, the Catholic view of Communion (Eucharist), and clerical celibacy were upheld. Belief in purgatory and the use of indulgences was strengthened, though selling indulgences was forbidden. After the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church had a clear body of doctrine and was unified under the pope. It had a renewed spirit of confidence.
Reformation in England
Not religion but politics brought about the English Reformation. King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, whom he thought could not give him a male heir. The pope was unwilling to annul (declare invalid) his marriage as a result, Henry turned to England’s church courts. The archbishop of Canterbury ruled that Henry’s marriage to Catherine was null and void. Henry then married Anne Boleyn, who was crowned queen and who gave birth to a girl. She later would become Queen Elizabeth I.
At Henry’s request, in 1534 Parliament moved to break England’s Catholic Church away from the pope in Rome. The Act of Supremacy of 1534 ruled that the king was the supreme head of the new Church of England. The king controlled religious doctrine, clerical appointments, and discipline. Thomas More famously opposed the king and was beheaded. Henry dissolved the monasteries and sold their land and possessions to the wealthy. This gave him more money and supporters. He stuck close to Catholic teachings, however.
The sickly, nine-year-old Edward VI succeeded Henry VIII. During his reign, church officials moved the Church of England (Anglican Church) in a Protestant direction. Clergy could now marry and a new church service developed. Henry’s daughter Mary came to the throne in 1553. She wanted to return England to Catholicism, but her actions had the opposite effect. She earned the name “Bloody Mary” by having 300 Protestants burned as heretics. By the end of her reign, England was more Protestant than ever. Queen Mary was replaced by Elizabeth I. Elizabeth became the Queen of England who restored stability to England after years of instability between Catholics and Protestants in England. She established the Anglican church adopting both Catholic and Protestant practices in the service.
Gutenberg's Printing Press.
Johan Gutenberg was a German craftsman that developed the movable type printing press modeled next to China’s invention. Gutenberg’ innovation of the printing press emerged around 1440 and made the written word more readily available. The printing press revolutionized publishing and made the Renaissance and Reformation ideas more easily accessible.
The Protestant Reformation, begun by Martin Luther in the early sixteenth century, divided the western Church into Catholic and Protestant groups.
Religion on the Eve of the Reformation
People were calling for reform in part because of corruption in the Catholic Church. Between 1450 and 1520 a series of popes failed to meet the Church’s spiritual needs. They were more concerned with the political interests of the Papal States. Julius II, the “warrior-pope,” even led armies against his enemies. Many people were disgusted with him and the Catholic Church.
Many Church officials used their offices to advance their careers and wealth, and many local priests seemed ignorant of their spiritual duties, especially instructing the faithful on achieving salvation—acceptance into Heaven. As a result, obtaining salvation became almost mechanical, for example by collecting relics. Venerating a saint could gain an indulgence—release form all or part of punishment for sin—according to the Church of the time. Most people found the Church unconcerned with their spiritual needs. This environment helps explain Luther’s ideas.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a monk and professor at the University of Wittenberg, where he lectured on the Bible. Through his study of the Bible, Luther came to reject the Catholic teaching that both faith and good works were necessary for salvation. He believed human deeds were powerless to affect God and that salvation was through faith alone. God grants salvation to the faithful because he is merciful. The idea of justification (being made right before God) by faith alone is the Protestant Reformation’s chief teaching. For all Protestants, the Bible, not the Church, became the primary source of religious truth.
The widespread selling of indulgences upset Luther. This practice simply harmed people’s chances of salvation, he believed. Angered by the practice, in 1517 Luther posted his “Ninety-five Theses” on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. They attacked abuses in selling indulgences. Thousands of copies were printed. In 1520 Luther called for the German princes to overthrow the papacy and establish a reformed German church. Luther wanted to keep only two sacraments—baptism and Communion—and called for the clergy to marry. Luther continued to emphasize his new doctrine of salvation.
The Church excommunicated Luther in 1521. He was summoned to appear before the imperial diet (legislative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire in the city of Worms. The emperor Charles V thought he could get Luther to change his ideas. Luther refused, which outraged the emperor. The Edict of Worms made Luther an outlaw in the empire. His books were to be burned and Luther delivered to the emperor.
Luther’s local ruler, however, protected him. Luther’s religious movement soon became a revolution. It gained support from many German rulers, who took control of Catholic churches and formed state churches supervised by the government. Luther set up new services to replace the Mass, featuring Bible readings, preaching the word of God, and song. His doctrine became knownas Lutheranism, the first Protestant faith.
The Zwinglian Reformation and Calvinism
Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor was forced to make peace with the Lutheran princes, which he did in 1555 with the Peace of Augsburg. It accepted the division of Christianity within Germany.
German states could choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism. All states would have the same legal rights. Rulers could choose their subjects’ religion. The settlement did not recognize the right of subjects to choose their own religion, however, so it did not recognize religious tolerance for individuals.
With the Peace of Augsburg, the ideal of Christian unity was lost forever. Huldrych Zwingli, a priest in Zürich, began a new Christian group in Switzerland. Relics and images were forbidden in the city, and a new service of scripture reading, prayer, and sermons replaced the Catholic Mass. The Swiss and German reformers sought an alliance, but they could not agree on the meaning of the sacrament of Communion. In 1531 Zwingli was killed in a war between Protestant and Catholic states in Switzerland. John Calvin assumed the leadership of Protestantism in Switzerland.
John Calvin fled Catholic France for Switzerland after he converted to Protestantism. He placed a new emphasis on the all-powerful nature of God—what Calvin called the “power, grace, and glory of God.” This led him to the important idea of predestination, which meant that God in an “eternal decree” had determined in advance who would be saved (the elect) and who would be damned (the reprobate). Calvin’s followers came to believe they were certain of salvation and were doing God’s work on Earth. Calvinism became a dynamic, activist faith. In 1536 Calvin began to reform the city of Geneva. He created a church government and a body called the Consistory, which enforced moral discipline. He set up a court to oversee the moral life and doctrinal purity of Genevans. People who deviated could be punished, even for such “crimes” as dancing and gambling. Calvin’s success in Geneva made it a powerful center of Protestantism. Missionaries trained in Geneva were sent throughout the world. By the mid-sixteenth century,
Calvinism had replaced Lutheranism as the most important form of Protestantism.
Catholic Reformation
By the mid-sixteenth century, things did not look good for Catholicism due to the spread of Protestantism. The Catholic Church revitalized in the sixteenth century for three chief reasons: the Jesuits, reform of the papacy, and the Council of Trent.
A Spanish nobleman named Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits. The pope recognized Loyola and his followers as a religious order in 1540. Jesuits took a special vow of obedience to the pope. They used education to spread their message. They were successful in restoring Catholicism to parts of Germany and eastern Europe, and in spreading it to other parts of the world.
Pope Paul III saw the need to reform the papacy and appointed a Reform Commission in 1537 to determine the Church’s ills. It blamed the corrupt policies of the popes. Pope Paul III also convened the Council of Trent.
In 1545 a group of cardinals, archbishops, abbots, and theologians met in Trent. The council met off and on there for 18 years. Its final decrees reaffirmed traditional Catholic teachings in opposition to Protestant beliefs. Both faith and works were needed for salvation. The seven sacraments, the Catholic view of Communion (Eucharist), and clerical celibacy were upheld. Belief in purgatory and the use of indulgences was strengthened, though selling indulgences was forbidden. After the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church had a clear body of doctrine and was unified under the pope. It had a renewed spirit of confidence.
Reformation in England
Not religion but politics brought about the English Reformation. King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, whom he thought could not give him a male heir. The pope was unwilling to annul (declare invalid) his marriage as a result, Henry turned to England’s church courts. The archbishop of Canterbury ruled that Henry’s marriage to Catherine was null and void. Henry then married Anne Boleyn, who was crowned queen and who gave birth to a girl. She later would become Queen Elizabeth I.
At Henry’s request, in 1534 Parliament moved to break England’s Catholic Church away from the pope in Rome. The Act of Supremacy of 1534 ruled that the king was the supreme head of the new Church of England. The king controlled religious doctrine, clerical appointments, and discipline. Thomas More famously opposed the king and was beheaded. Henry dissolved the monasteries and sold their land and possessions to the wealthy. This gave him more money and supporters. He stuck close to Catholic teachings, however.
The sickly, nine-year-old Edward VI succeeded Henry VIII. During his reign, church officials moved the Church of England (Anglican Church) in a Protestant direction. Clergy could now marry and a new church service developed. Henry’s daughter Mary came to the throne in 1553. She wanted to return England to Catholicism, but her actions had the opposite effect. She earned the name “Bloody Mary” by having 300 Protestants burned as heretics. By the end of her reign, England was more Protestant than ever. Queen Mary was replaced by Elizabeth I. Elizabeth became the Queen of England who restored stability to England after years of instability between Catholics and Protestants in England. She established the Anglican church adopting both Catholic and Protestant practices in the service.
Gutenberg's Printing Press.
Johan Gutenberg was a German craftsman that developed the movable type printing press modeled next to China’s invention. Gutenberg’ innovation of the printing press emerged around 1440 and made the written word more readily available. The printing press revolutionized publishing and made the Renaissance and Reformation ideas more easily accessible.