The Catholic Reformation (AKA: The Counter Reformation)

The Council of Trent ( )  Pope Paul III called a meeting to reform the Catholic Church. To try to stem the Protestant advance in Northern Europe  Reaffirmed that salvation comes through faith and good works.  Only acceptable version of the Bible was the Latin translation  No real reforms here!

The Council of Trent (continued)  Forbade the selling of indulgences  Clergy ordered to follow strict rules of behavior  Each diocese had to establish a seminary to better educate the clergy.  Finally some real reforms

The Inquisition  A Church Court to stamp out heresy  In the 1500s, it introduced censorship to curtail humanist and Protestant thinking  1543, it published the Index of Forbidden Books A list of books considered too immoral or irreligious for Catholics to read

Think, Write, Pair-Share  Why do you think the Catholic Church would ban their membership from reading certain books?  Do you think any church should try to control what its members think or read? Why or why not?

Influence on the Arts  Inspired El Greco’s art to express very religious feelings  Sparked a new style of art and architecture called baroque Expressed emotion, complexity, and exaggeration for dramatic effect

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits)  Founded by Ignatius of Loyola Spanish noble wounded in battle Vowed to serve God during his recovery  Followed a strict spiritual discipline and pledged absolute obedience to the Pope  Preached to the people, helped the poor, and set up schools.  Acted as advisers in royal courts, and founded universities.

Jesuits as Missionaries  Helped to strengthen Catholicism in southern Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary  Carried their message to the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Matteo Ricci preached Christianity at the court of the Ming Dynasty in China. He dressed as they did and learned to speak Chinese, and he shared with scholars his knowledge of European arts and sciences.

Holy Roman Empire and Protestantism  1555, Charles V conceded that he would not be able to stop Protestantism  Charles V and German princes signed the “Peace of Augsburg” Allowed each prince to decide the religion of their subjects Set the stage for the division of Europe into a Protestant north and a Catholic south. (this division still remains)

Reasons to Support Protestantism  Religious conviction  Some princes used it to increase their power By making it the official religion of their country they could control it Also seized lands and wealth owned by the Catholic Church  Townspeople rallied to a new faith that supported their business practices  Mostly northern Europeans saw it as a way to defy the Italian based religion that took so much money from their homelands.