1. Homework
R-4 due tomorrow
Current events article #6 due Tuesday.

2. Aim #6: Why did the Protestant Reformation occur?
Do Now: Describe some of the things that occurred towards the end of the Middle Ages that were making people more likely to question the power and wisdom of the Catholic Church.

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

4. II. Causes of the Protestant Reformation
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. Printing Press → Crucial in spreading the ideas of the Protestant Reformation across Europe very quickly.

7. II. Causes of the Protestant Reformation
2. Renaissance Humanism→ Human beings now believe they have the ability to challenge the Church and improve Christianity in Europe. A Dutch writer named Erasmus had already written In Praise of Folly, criticizing corruption in the Church and urging people to read the Bible for themselves and reform the Church.

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

9. III. The “Spark” of the Reformation
Martin Luther ( )
1. Monk who lives in the German state of Saxony.
2. Disgusted by the sale of indulgences
B. 95 Theses (1517): Series of formal statements by Luther attacking the sale of indulgences by Johann Tetzel. Posted to the door of the Wittenberg Church in Saxony.