1. The Protestant Reformation

2. Developments leading to the Reformation
In the last stages of the Catholic Church’s dominance over society, many believers began questioning the positions that the church was taking.
There were several reasons that the power of the Catholic church began to wane: the popularity of humanism, the increase in education of the common people, and the increased corruption of church leadership.

3. Developments leading to the Reformation
Religious Corruption
Between 1450 and 1520 a series of popes known as the “Renaissance Popes” failed to meet the church’s spiritual needs (1)
Many church officials used their offices to gain more wealth. These officials continually took advantage of many sincere seekers of God.
Catholics sought assurance of salvation
The church began granting (selling) indulgences (2) to release a person from punishment for sin.

4. Developments leading to the Reformation
Wide spread changes in intellectual thought allowed some people to decide if they wanted to continue to follow the direction that the church was going in, or if they wanted to change the direction of the church
One of the movements that changed the religious landscape was known as Christian Humanism (3)
Christian Humanists believed that in order to change society, you must first change the people who make up that society. (4)

5. Developments leading to the Reformation
Desiderius Erasmus – He was the best known Christian humanist. (5) He believed Christianity should show people how to live good lives on a daily basis rather than provide a system of rules and rituals that people had to practice to be saved.
Although Erasmus was critical of the church itself, he wanted to reform the church, not break away from it. He did criticize church leadership in his book The Praise of the Folly. (6)

6. The Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther (7)
Was a monk and professor at the University of Wittenberg in Germany
Wanted to find a way to assure salvation – acceptance into heaven (8)
The Catholic Church said that salvation was a combination of faith and works (9)
Luther believed people were saved by faith in Jesus alone (10)
This idea became the chief teaching of the Protestant Reformation

7. The Protestant Reformation
On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed a list of 95 statements to the doors of the church in Wittenberg. These statements became known as the “95 Theses.” (11)
These statements were critical of the church and its practices. They also laid out what Luther believed about salvation.
The idea of justification (being made right before God) (12) by faith instead of works was the Protestant Reformation’s chief teaching.
For Protestants (the followers of Luther’s teachings), the Bible (13), not the Church, became the primary source of religious truth.

8. The Protestant Reformation
Breaking from the Church
By 1520, Luther began calling for German princes to over throw the papacy in Germany
Luther did away with all but 2 of the Church’s Sacraments (baptism and Communion) (14)
He believed clergy should be allowed to marry
He continued to emphasize salvation through faith in Jesus alone
Luther was excommunicated in 1521(he was kicked out of the Catholic Church.) (15)
Luther was declared an outlaw within the Holy Roman Empire by the Edict of Worms (16)
Luther was sent into hiding and was protected in Wittenberg by local church officials.

9. The Rise of Lutheranism
Luther set up new religious services to replace Catholic Mass
These consisted of Bible readings, preaching of the Word and songs (17)
The doctrine that developed by Luther became known as Lutheranism. (18) This was the 1st Protestant faith.

10. The Rise of Lutheranism
The Catholic Church, under the direction of Charles V, eventually recognized the Lutheran believers’ desire to worship in their own way. Charles V signed the Peace of Augsburg in (19) This treaty allowed the individual states in Germany to follow either Catholicism or Lutheranism.