2. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church had little competition in religious thought and action. The resistance of the church to change led to the Protestant Reformation, which resulted in the birth of new political and economic institutions.

3. Conflicts that Challenged the Authority of the Church in Rome

4. There was much corruption in the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, as many church leaders sought wealth and power more than holiness. The reputation of the pope suffered as well, with popes who spent extravagantly on personal pleasure and fought wars, or even fathering children.

5. With the growing wealth of the Renaissance, many people had begun borrowing money with high rates of interest, known as usury. The church opposed usury; therefore, merchant wealth challenged the church’s view of usury. Merchants and bankers ignored the church teachings on usury.

6. Another conflict that challenged the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome was the fact German and English nobility disliked Italian domination of the church.

7. Likewise, the church’s great political power and wealth caused conflict

8. Church corruption and the sale of indulgences were widespread and caused conflict. Indulgences were pardons from punishment for sin that were sold by the Catholic Church; in other words, indulgences were sold to people who believed they could buy forgiveness with money.

9. Martin Luther (The Lutheran Tradition)

10. The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when a German monk named Martin Luther challenged the church’s sale of indulgences by posting his 95 Theses on a church door. In his 95 Theses, Luther said the church had committed a grave error by asking people to pay money for false promises of forgiveness.

11. Luther was quickly condemned by the pope, but received support from many people. Luther challenged the importance of the organized church, its clergy, and its ritual.

12. It was Luther’s view that faith alone would lead to salvation. Luther also believed the Bible is the ultimate authority and that all humans are equal before God.

13. Luther was excommunicated (kicked out) of the Roman Catholic Church by the pope in 1521. Luther’s actions led to the birth of the Protestant Church.

14. John Calvin (The Calvinist Tradition)

15. Like Martin Luther, John Calvin of France was a Protestant reformer.

16. Calvin argued that God alone decides who will be saved. This doctrine, in which people are predestined (chosen beforehand) to be saved is known as predestination. I believe in predestination.

17. Calvin believed that no one knows whether or not they are part of “the elect” (the saved), but suggested that faith in Jesus Christ was a sign that a person was one of those predestined to be saved. Calvin’s belief… Having faith in  = a sign you might be predestined to be saved

18. The Protestant movement expanded as a result of John Calvin’s actions. Protestant Movement

19. For example, in the Swiss city of Geneva, Calvinism became the official religion. In France, many people (including high-ranking nobles) converted to Calvinism. These people were called Huguenots. By 1600, Calvinist churches were well established in parts of Europe. France

20. King Henry VIII of England

21. The Reformation began in England when the pope refused to grant England’s King Henry VIII a divorce from his first of six wives. Henry wanted a divorce – something not usually permitted by the Catholic Church – because his first wife was unable to give him a son; Henry wanted to marry another woman who he hoped would give him a son.

22. When the pope refused to grant Henry a divorce, Henry broke with Rome in 1533, withdrawing England from the Catholic Church. Acts of Parliament made Henry the head of the Church of England; Henry VIII headed the national church in England.

23. Henry dismissed the authority of the pope in Rome; however, under Henry the Anglican Church kept the organization and ceremonies of the Catholic Church. ANGLICAN CHURCH Organization of the Catholic Church Ceremonies of the Catholic Church

24. Henry’s wealth swelled when he dissolved the monasteries in England and appropriated lands and wealth of the Roman Catholic Church in England.

25. In the years following Henry’s death, England adopted a Calvinist form of Protestantism, then later reverted to Catholicism. Calvinist   Catholicism 

26. Queen Elizabeth I of England

27. The Anglican Church was further established during the reign of Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. The organization and services of the Anglican Church retained many aspects of Catholicism, but the doctrine was Calvinist.

28. Queen Elizabeth I showed a great deal of tolerance for dissenters – people who did not embrace Protestantism. This was not a normal position for a ruler in this time period. Although she announced England would be a Protestant nation, Queen Elizabeth I did not require her subjects to swear they were Protestants. And while Catholic Church services were no longer permitted in England, people were not asked what they were doing in private.

29. Queen Elizabeth I ruled from 1558 until her death in 1603. During her reign as queen, Elizabeth I recognized a need for English expansionism in order to keep up with the growing Spanish empire. (The Spanish had already colonized in North and South America – something that presented a threat to England.) Queen Elizabeth I did not want Spain to become more important than England, so colonization became important.

30. Under Queen Elizabeth I, England claimed lands in North America. Still, the French had more settlements in the Americas than England or any other country.

31. With English adventurers regularly proving a threat to the Spanish empire, Spain’s King Philip II built the largest fleet of warships the world had ever seen. He planned to crush England, for both economic and religious reasons. King Philip was a Catholic king and knew Catholic services were prohibited in England; he planned to, once again, make England a Catholic country.

32. Remarkably, despite being less than half the size of the Spanish Armada, the British navy was successful in defending England from the Spanish. England’s victory over the Spanish Armada happened in 1588 and changed England and Spain forever; while the English empire continued to grow in the coming years, Spain, while still powerful, would never again be quite as strong.

33. The Reformation in Germany

34. Luther’s students printed and distributed his message across Germany, which was not a single country but a region of about 300 independent states that were under the leadership of princes.

35. Germany was ready for change. With the economic decline of the Italian city-states, Germany was at the center of the European economic system.

36. Politically, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of the Hapsburg family ruled over Germany’s many states; however, Charles was unable to unify his empire or make its princes obey, so he really only ruled in theory. The Hapsburg family and the authority of the Holy Roman Empire continued to support the Roman Catholic Church.

37. After Luther spoke out against the Roman Catholic Church and was excommunicated in 1520, Charles V insisted Luther abandon his ideas; when Luther refused to do so, Charles declared Luther an outlaw and banned the printing and sales of his works.

38. Luther, who was protected by the prince in his home state, went into hiding. While in hiding, Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible into German.

39. Following the lead of Luther’s prince, other German princes welcomed Lutheran Protestantism into their lands. Princes in Northern Germany converted to Protestantism, ending the authority of the Pope in their states.

40. Some German princes believed in Luther’s message; others used it as a tool to resist the devoutly Catholic Holy Roman Emperor. Meanwhile, the struggle between Germany’s Protestants and Catholics continued. ProtestantsCatholics

41. Conflict between Protestants and Catholics resulted in devastating wars. For example, in 1618, the Thirty Years’ War began. Protestants vs. Catholics = Thirty Years’ War

42. The Thirty Years’ War began as a religious conflict, when Protestants rebelled against the Holy Roman Empire; however, the focus of the war changed and it became more political. The war involved most of the major European continental powers, including German states and France. The treaty that ended the Thirty Years’ War strengthened France, but also made German princes essentially independent of the Holy Roman Emperor.

43. The Reformation in France

44. France was controlled by a Catholic monarchy. In 1610, Louis VIII became king of France at eight years of age. Louis’ mother ruled from 1610 until 1617 when Louis came to power.

45. Louis, who was sickly and had trouble concentrating, chose wise advisers to help provide strong leadership. Among these advisers was Cardinal Richelieu, who Louis chose to be his chief minister.

46. Well before Louis came to power, the Edict of Nantes had been issued by Louis’ father, King Henry IV, in 1598. In the Edict of Nantes, the Catholic monarchy granted Protestant Huguenots freedom of worship and some political rights.

47. Cardinal Richelieu believed the freedom given to the Huguenots by the Edict of Nantes was dangerous and led to military attacks against Huguenot towns. The Edict of Nantes was later revoked in 1685.

48. Of note, it was Cardinal Richelieu who changed the focus of the Thirty Years’ War from a religious to political conflict.

49. The Catholic Reformation

50. During the Protestant Reformation, large areas of Europe had become Protestant. This was due, in part, to dissenters prior to Martin Luther, including John Wycliffe and Jan Huss in the 1380s. Wycliffe went so far as to call the pope the antichrist, while Huss adopted many of Wycliffe’s beliefs and was eventually burned at the stake. Nonetheless, in Italy, southern Germany, and, of course, Spain, Catholicism remained dominant.

51. The Catholic Reformation, which began in the 1530s, started as an attempt to return the Catholic Church to an emphasis on spiritual matters. It was also a movement to stop the spread of Protestantism. Catholic Reformation Spiritual Matters

52. During the Catholic Reformation, some popes waged war against reformers they accused of heresy (opinion that conflicts with official church beliefs). Pope Paul III even brought Inquisition courts to Rome, using punishments such as burning at the stake for Protestants found guilty of heresy. Started in Spain in 1478, The Inquisition was used to reinforce Catholic doctrine. A religious court, The Inquisition punished those who did not accept the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

53. Later, from 1545 to 1563, the Council of Trent was established as another Roman Catholic Church response to the Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent reaffirmed most Church doctrine and practices.

54. An Index of Forbidden Books was also published to halt the spread of Protestant tracts.

55. It was during the Catholic Reformation that new Catholic religious orders formed. The most important of these orders were The Society of Jesus, which was also known as The Jesuits. The Society of Jesus was founded to spread Catholic doctrine around the world.

56. The Jesuits taught that while predestination offered salvation to the literate and wealthy, it could also lead to despair and the possibility of not being saved. The Jesuits also argued that Protestantism also deprived people of traditional activities such as the worship of saints.

57. It was Jesuit missionaries, along with Catholic soldiers, that won back large areas of central and eastern Europe for Catholicism.

58. The Impact of the Reformation on Western Civilization

59. The Reformation had its roots in theology, but it led to important economic and political changes. THEOLOGY ECONOMIC CHANGES POLITICAL CHANGES

60. At first, the Reformation divided the countries of Europe on religious principles, leading to religious intolerance. The Reformation shattered the religious unity of Europe, dividing it into a Roman Catholic south and a Protestant north. From this time forward, rulers had to take religious rivalries into account when conducting foreign and domestic policies.

61. The Reformation permanently weakened the Catholic Church, which had been the principal institution of medieval society. The Reformation strengthened the power of secular rulers at the expense of the papacy, as monarchs in Catholic as well as Protestant countries claimed power over the church within their own domains. Power in most European states was concentrated in the monarch.

62. Spiritually, the Reformation led to the end of religious abuses and put God back at the heart of religion. For Protestants, this meant removing intermediaries (such as priests and saints) who stood between an individual and God. GOD

63. A growth of literacy was stimulated by the Gutenberg printing press. The Bible was printed in English, French, and German, and men and women would use the Bible to find their own faith and develop personal relationships with God. These factors had an important impact on spreading the ideas of the Reformation and Renaissance. English French German

64. There was a harshness in Protestantism. Since good works were no longer thought to lead to salvation, there was far less personal and public charity. For example, monasteries no longer existed to provide social services to the poor and needy. GOOD DEEDS = SALVATION

65. The new sense of self-reliance that emerged as a result of the Reformation led to a growth of secularism. There was a new sense of self-reliance, encouraged by a belief that by thrift and hard work an individual could achieve godliness as well as prosperity. SECULARISM

66. Protestantism also contributed to political change. Luther and Calvin were themselves politically and socially conservative; however, their reforms did challenge authority. By putting the Bible into the hands of ordinary people, their work encouraged the growth of individualism.

67. Protestantism – particularly the work of Luther and Calvin – during the Reformation led to an eventual, gradual growth of religious tolerance.