The Protestant Reformation Madeline Churm History of Western Civilization 102

Background Information

Background Information Continued Roman Catholicism was the main religion Church officials held a huge amount of power (i.e. preaching the Latin Bible, Baptism, confession, the selling of indulgences) Indulgences were a donation that would be made to the Church with a promise from the Pope for a reduced sentence in Purgatory

Martin Luther A German monk Founded Lutheranism, the branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with his teachings Believed that true God-given salvation could not be earned, but only received Lutheranism prevalent in modern-day Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, Finland, etc.

The Spread of Lutheranism Luther translated the Bible into spoken German This Bible was distributed widely thanks to the printing press People were now able to memorize and study scripture themselves, rather than relying on the Church solely

Calvinism A branch of Protestant Christianity that followed the beliefs of John Calvin Calvin believed that people were predestined to be saved or be condemned to Hell, and no acts could change that Other than Scotland and Geneva, Switzerland, Calvinism spread randomly throughout Europe

Roman Catholicism and the Church of England Most notably, Spain, France and Italy remained Roman Catholic This was for many reasons, but the main reason is that in Europe, a region would practice the religion of its ruler The Church of England created by King Henry XIII’s rejection of papal authority in 1534, which allowed him to marry another woman other than his wife The Church of England made the king or queen the official heads of the religion, and bishops would govern the religion

Conclusion The Reformation led to radical changes in the way that people viewed and treated religion Common people were able to access the word of God more readily and independently Martin Luther was a major influence in the Reformation, by questioning the Church and its practices Protestant branches such as Lutheranism, Calvinism and the Church of England were created