Anabaptists & The Catholic Reformation

Protestantism & The State  Luther and many other Protestant reformers allowed the government to play a dominant role in church affairs  Radical anabaptists strongly disliked the idea of giving so much power to the state

Anabaptists vs. Catholics & Protestants  Catholics & Protestants both baptized infants  Anabaptists believed that religion should be a voluntary community of adult believers  For this reason, they believed baptism should take place during adulthood, when people were able to consciously choose their religion

Anabaptist Practices  Believed in the spirit of early Christianity  Considered all believers to be equal (based on New Testament)  Each church chose its own minister/spiritual leader  All Christians were considered priests, so any member of the community was eligible to be a minister  Complete separation of church and state  Keep government out of religion  Government should not have authority over real Christians  Refused to hold political office or bear arms  Took many commandments literally

Views of Anabaptists  Their political and religious beliefs caused them to be regarded as dangerous radicals who threatened the very fabric of sixteenth century society  One of the only things Catholics and Protestants could agree on was the need to persecute Anabaptists

Protestant Success  By the mid-16 th century, the Catholic Church had lost much of its power and influence in Europe  Lutheranism was rooted in Germany and Scandinavia  Calvinism had taken hold in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, and much of Eastern Europe.  England split from the pope in Rome to create its own national church

Catholic Reformation  Catholic Church concentrated on gaining new strength to regain what it had lost to Protestants in 3 main ways:  The Jesuit Order  The reform of the papacy  The Council of Trent

The Jesuits  Society of Jesus (aka Jesuits) founded by Spanish nobleman Ignatius of Loyola in 1540  Took special vow of absolute obedience to pope (important instrument for papal policy)  Used education to spread message  Used missionaries to restore Catholicism to parts of Germany and eastern Europe as well as spreading it to other parts of world

Reform of Papacy  After corruption of Renaissance popes, Pope Paul III perceived need for change. Took bold step of appointing Reform Commission in 1537 to determine the Church’s wrongdoings  Commission blamed Church’s problems on failure and corruption of past popes & recognized forward- thinking Jesuits as new religious order

Council of Trent  March 1545, group of cardinals, archbishops, bishops, abbots, and theologians met in city of Trent (border between Italy & Germany)  Began council, which met every 18 years  Reaffirmed traditional Catholic teachings in opposition to Protestant beliefs  Faith and good works declared necessary for salvation  7 sacraments and clerical celibacy all upheld  Belief in purgatory and use of indulgences strengthened (though selling them became forbidden)  Roman Catholic Church now had clear body of doctrine and was unified under supreme leadership of pope. Renewed spirit of confidence

Now…  Move on to the questions in the blog (you may use your book, the powerpoint, or the internet to help you answer them)  Add your answers to the bottom of your notes  Make sure all of your work from today is in Evernote