Essential Question What were the major problems in the church that the Reformation tried to fix?

How did we get here?? Reading and education led people to realize the church might not know everything. The behavior of some priests during the Black Death gave people doubt. Humanism led to new ideas about the importance of every individual.

Answer this Blast from the Past question. What GOOD things did the church do or provide for people? Blast from the Past: how does this connect to past cultures/ideas/lessons?

The REFORMATION

Money Problems

Money Problems Pope Leo X spent tons of the church’s money on his own entertainment. Donations from people were not enough to keep him happy. They came up with new ways to make money from the people like letting people pay to become priests. So, what? Priests who paid to join the priesthood did so for the power and tax breaks. They often knew nothing of the Bible and rarely even lived near their church.

Indulgences Indulgences were passes to shorten the time spent in purgatory before Heaven. You could buy them before you sinned or even for people who already died. Basically they were selling tickets to Heaven.

Who was Martin Luther and what did he do and believe? Essential Question Who was Martin Luther and what did he do and believe?

Martin Luther He disagreed with indulgences because only God can forgive sins, not man. To Luther, the Bible was the only source of God’s thoughts. If something wasn’t in the Bible, it shouldn’t be in the church. He risked excommunication and even death.

Luther’s Challenge Luther nailed the 95 Theses (arguments) to the door of the local church for all to see. He also translated the Bible into German, the language of the commoners.

The Pope’s Response Luther was excommunicated after he refused to take back his statements. He had the support of German nobles who protected him. His ideas spread very rapidly over Europe despite the church’s response.

Results

Luther’s idea spread rapidly throughout Europe. Millions of people converted to Protestantism. Some people went so far as to violently rise up again the Church’s control. He was a hero to some, a criminal to others. Protestant Catholic

Protestant Catholic -Jesus offers salvation but you must work to get it. -Salvation is the free gift of God, you cannot earn it. -Jesus lived, was crucified and resurrected. -Only God can forgive sins -Popes can forgive sins -Communion and baptism are very important -Regular church members help make decisions. -Only clergy make decisions in the church.

What happens from here?? The churches were now competing for members. Each church sent missionaries around the world to find new converts. This lead to “discovering” America and new relationships with Japan.

Protestant England settled in what is now the United States. Catholic Spain and France settled in what is now Mexico and South America. England North America Protestant Spain Catholic South America

Reflection… Problems in the church, like selling indulgences, led to the Reformation. Martin Luther and others argued that God provided salvation, not the church.

3. France and Spain remained Catholic and spread Catholicism to Mexico and South America. 4. England and Germany became Protestant and spread Protestantism into what is now the USA.