1. Homework Complete the 95 Theses primary source for tomorrow. Current events article due Monday.

2. Aim #8: Why did the Protestant Reformation occur?

3. I. What is the Protestant Reformation? A. Protestant Reformation 1. Protest: People are going to rise up and protest Church corruption and practices 2. Reform: People are going to try to make changes to fix/improve Christianity in Europe 3. Will eventually lead to the creation of an entirely new branch of Christianity → Protestants

4. II. Causes of the Protestant Reformation A. Corruption of the Catholic Church in the 1400s / early 1500s 1. Indulgences: Letters issued by the Pope that would grant you forgiveness for all of your sins.

5. II. Causes of the Protestant Reformation 2. Corrupt clergy / Popes: More concerned with material wealth, sponsoring the arts and fighting wars than spiritual issues. 3. Simony: Buying and selling of Church offices.

6. II. Causes of the Protestant Reformation B. Conditions of the Renaissance 1. Erasmus→ A Dutch Renaissance writer who wrote “In Praise of Folly,” a satire of the Church. Erasmus complained that many monks and priests in the Church were illiterate and unqualified, and Church ceremonies were too elaborate. He believed people should read the Bible for themselves, and work together to reform the Church and end its corrupt practices.

7. II. Causes of the Protestant Reformation 2. Printing Press → In 1440, the German craftsmen Johannes Guttenberg invented this, which allowed for a printer to produce hundreds of copies of a single work, all of them identical. With this invention, more books were produced, prices became much lower, and more people learned to read in the vernacular (language of a particular region). This invention would be crucial in spreading the ideas of the Protestant Reformation across Europe very quickly.

8. II. Causes of the Protestant Reformation 3. Renaissance Humanism→ Human beings now believe they have the ability to challenge the Church and improve Christianity in Europe.

9. Concluding Question Of the causes we discussed today, which one do you think will be most significant in starting the Protestant Reformation.