Reformation

Causes of the Reformation  By 1500, forces weakened Church  Renaissance challenged Church authority  Movement began in Germany  Spread throughout Europe because of political and social forces

Problems within Catholic Church  Critics of Church claimed leaders were corrupt  Popes- patrons  Spent extravagantly  Too busy pursuing worldly affairs than spiritual duties

Problems cont’d  Lower clergy and their problems  Poorly educated  Broke priestly vows

Early Calls for Reform  Influenced by reformers, people expected higher standards  In early 1300s and 1400s, people were demanding reforms

Luther Challenges the Church  Wanted to be a good Christian  Stood against Tetzel who was selling indulgences  95 Theses

Luther’s Teachings  Wanted full reform of the Church  Teachings  Could win salvation only by faith in God  Church teachings should be based on Bible  All people with faith were equal

Pope Gets MAD!!  Luther initially viewed as a rebellious monk  Later Pope realized he was a serious threat  Pope threatens with excommunication

Holy Roman Emperor Gets MAD too!!  Charles V was a devout Catholic and didn’t like Luther’s teachings  He summons Luther for trial and later is declared an outlaw  Ruler of Saxony took him in  Luther’s ideas still carried on and became known as Lutherans

Great Schism (in Germany)  Within Roman Catholic Church  Much fighting occurred  Peace of Augsburg- agreed that the religion of each German state was to be decided by its ruler

Henry VIII of England  King of England  Needed Male heir  Wanted a divorce, but not granted  Called Parliament into session and asked to end pope’s power  Reformation Parliament gave him power to lead English Church

Henry VIII cont’d  Power hungry  Had 3 children succeed him  Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots and Edward VI

John Calvin  Calvin went beyond Luther  Ideas/ Teachings known as Calvinism  Teachings  God grants his grace to whomever he chooses regardless of individual behaviors  God chooses very few to save- predestination  Men and women are sinful by nature

Calvinism cont’d  Believed ideal government was a theocracy  Tried in Geneva and worked  Ideas spread- Protestant Churches trace their roots back to him

Anabaptists  Believed that only adults could decide to be baptized  If done as a child, should do again as an adult  Greek word for “baptize again”  Believed that Church and state should be separate

Catholic Reformation  Millions remained loyal  The movement within the Church to reform itself  Great reformer- Ignatius of Loyola  Believed daily devotions cleansed soul  Wrote a book laying out daily meditation, prayer and study

Catholic Reformation cont’d  Reforming popes  Paul III in 1534 took important steps forward  Investigated abuses with Church  Council of Trent- organized great leaders to discuss/ agree on doctrines

The Council of Trent ( )  Reaffirms the Church’s beliefs and doctrines  Called for better trained priests (rise of seminaries)  Reformed Church financial and administrative policies  Greatly supported by Spain, France, and Italy

Divided Europe into two religious parts  Protestant countries  England  Scotland  Scandinavia  Northern Germany  “Low Countries”  Catholic countries  Italy  France  Spain  Portugal  Ireland  Southern Germany

Legacy of the Reformation  Protestant Churches flourished, despite religious wars and persecutions  Religion no longer united in Europe  Church’s power declined  Helped to set the stage for the modern world