Chapter 16… THE REFORMATION IN EUROPE Lesson 1: The Protestant Reformation

REFORMATION defined… The Protestant Reformation is the name given to the religious reform movement that divided western Christianity into Catholic and Protestant groups. The movement was aided by a Renaissance invention – the printing press – (Johannes Gutenberg) as it diffused from its point of origin in Germany throughout Europe. pp clip So – this reform within Christianity resulted in a new sect (Protestantism) AND changed European history, politics and culture.

Humanism and the Reformation… (Q A 1) Humanistic ideology sparked the Renaissance starting in Italy & eventually spreading to Northern Europe where it was re-shaped into a movement called Christian Humanism (or Northern Renaissance Humanism); the major goal of this movement was to reform the Catholic Church by calling for a renewed focus on the fundamental teachings of Christianity in the Bible. This new focus would lead people to become more SINCERELY religious (instead of just being superficially religious) and that would bring about a reform of the Church and society. The best-known Christian Humanist was Desiderius Erasmus. He believed Christians should live good lives in the here & now & not just so they would be saved in the hereafter AND he felt the Catholic Church should take the focus off pilgrimages, fasts & relics & lead the people to practice their faith in a simpler “more pure” way. HE ENVISIONED REFORM WITHIN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH… AND WAS NOT ADVOCATING TO BREAK AWAY FROM IT.

The basis of the call for Reform… (QA 2) Like Christian Humanists, ordinary people & some within the Church leadership also called for reform for a number of reasons… Popes were called out for seeming to be more concerned with politics & worldly interests than with the spiritual needs of their followers; Church officials used their office to attain individual wealth & success; Parish Priests were disconnected from their congregation’s spiritual needs; The process of obtaining salvation – for some – had lost meaning Even within the clergy there were different views on how to attain salvation – as seen in the emergence of the MODERN DEVOTION, which stressed the need to follow the teachings of Jesus rather than focusing on collecting relics.

Martin Luther & Reformation (Q B1&2) Martin Luther was a Catholic Monk in Germany where he lectured on the Bible at the University of Wittenberg. His teaching focused on the certainty of salvation which Luther came to believe was only attainable through FAITH in God rather than through good works. This Justification by faith was reliant upon deep study of the Bible which was for Luther (& later for all Protestants) the only valid source of religious truth. Luther was very much opposed to the sale of Indulgences by the Catholic Church (essentially indulgences were supposed to be outward acts that people would do as part of their penance for sinning; alms ($$) were one way to do this… eventually abuses crept in & many believed the Church was selling forgiveness); Luther wrote passionately about his disagreements with the Catholic Church (his 95 Theses) & then posted them for public discussion; thanks to the printing press thousands of copies were created & dispersed all over Germany. In time Luther would support a break with the Catholic Church & call for the establishment of a new one. Ref History

Reaction of the Holy Roman Empire & the first Protestants…. (Q B3&4) The Pope excommunicated Luther (cut him off from the Church) & he was called to appear before a court of the Holy Roman Empire which directed him to change his ideas. Luther refused. The Pope issued an Edict (“Edict of Worms”) outlawing Luther and his works; he was turned over to German authorities for punishment. He went into hiding for years… and during that time his movement became a revolution within the states of the Holy Roman Empire. Ultimately Lutheran’s Theses became the foundation of the first Protestant faith… LUTHERANISM. The original Lutheran Church was headed by Luther himself (as a married Minister). The establishment of this new Church shook things up politically & religiously throughout Europe.

The Reformation & Politics (Q C 1, 2, 3) Charles V (the Holy Roman Emperor) opposed the Reformation as a challenge to the power of the Catholic Church. He ruled a large empire which he wanted to remain united and Catholic; Once the power of the Catholic Church diminished, Kings all across Europe began to argue over borders & boundaries between Kingdoms, resulting in religious warfare in some parts of Europe. This ended in Germany with a formal agreement (called the Peace of Augsburg) that gave German Christians the right to choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism. However, as religion and politics were deeply intertwined, that decision ended up being made by KINGS rather than by INDIVIDUALS (rulers dictated the religion that their subjects would follow). In lesson 2 you will learn how the Reformation affected Europe beyond Germany (HW: read & complete HW distributed in class).