The Importance of Religion in Europe

The Protestant/Catholic Split When Martin Luther attacks the Catholic Church there is a split in European Christendom Ardent Catholic King Philip II goes to war to root out challenges to the Church Goes to war with Calvinists, leading to the Dutch Republic (Holland) Henry VIII initially opposes Protestantism, but the pope refused to annul his marriage to the Spanish Princess He splits from Rome and places himself as head of the Church of England Queen Elizabeth continues the Protestant ways, with Catholic influence leaving the Church in the hands of Anglican bishops Goes to war with the Catholic Irish

The Puritans Calvinism John Calvin preached human weakness and God’s omnipotence Predestination - God chooses certain people for eternal salvation and condemns the rest to eternal damnation His authoritarian doctrine appeals to Puritans in Scotland and England Unlike the Pilgrims, Puritans did not separate from the Church of England Hoped to purify the religion of ceremony and hierarchy English Puritans were powerful in Parliament so when they accused Charles I of ‘popery’ and he dissolved Parliament, they fled to America. With the failure of the English Revolution, the Puritan Colonies stood as outposts of Calvinism and the Atlantic republican tradition.

The Pilgrims They were religious separatists who broke from the Church of England Committed Protestants who left the Church of England King James threatened to drive them out The Mayflower