Protestant Reformation and Europe

Protestant

Any Christian who belongs to a non-Catholic church. The name comes from people "protesting" Catholic Church practices in the 1500s.

Reformation

A major movement in 16th-century Europe aimed at fixing corrupt practices in the Catholic Church, which ended up splitting Western Christianity into Catholic and Protestant branches.

Counter-Reformation (Catholic Reformation)

The Catholic Church's official effort to reform itself from within, fix corruption, and stop the spread of Protestantism.

Indulgence

A certificate sold by the Catholic Church that promised to forgive sins or reduce punishment in the afterlife. It became a corrupt fundraising tool.

Lutheranism

The very first Protestant religion, created by Martin Luther. It teaches that going to heaven comes through faith in God alone (not by doing good deeds or buying indulgences) and that anyone can read the Bible for themselves.

Calvinism

A strict Protestant religion created by John Calvin that emphasized simple living, hard work, and church leadership running the government.

Predestination

John Calvin's belief that God already decided whether every person would go to heaven or hell before they were even born.

Free Will

The idea that God gave humans the freedom to make their own choices between good and evil.

Sacraments

The seven holy rituals in the Catholic Church (such as Baptism, Communion, and Marriage) meant to bring believers closer to God.

Anglican Church

The official Church of England started by King Henry VIII so he could divorce his wife; it mixes Protestant teachings with traditional Catholic styles.

Excommunication

Being officially kicked out of the Catholic Church. In the 1500s, this meant being cut off from community life and losing your path to salvation.

Heresy

Holding or spreading religious beliefs that go directly against the official rules of the Church.

Blasphemy

An act, statement, or writing that shows disrespect toward God or sacred items.

Martin Luther

A German monk whose 1517 complaints against Church corruption (especially indulgences) sparked the Protestant Reformation and created Lutheranism.

John Calvin

A Protestant leader in Switzerland who created Calvinism, set up a strict religious government, and taught predestination.

Henry VIII

The King of England who broke away from the Catholic Church in 1534 and made himself head of the Anglican Church just so he could annul his marriage.

Queen Elizabeth I

Henry VIII's daughter who permanently secured England as a Protestant country, blended Catholic traditions with Protestant ideas, and defeated the Spanish Armada.

Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII's second wife whose marriage triggered England's split from Rome; mother of Elizabeth I.

John Wycliffe

An early English reformer who translated the Bible into English so everyday people could read it without needing a priest.

Jan Huss

An early reformer who taught that the Bible had more authority than Church leaders; he was convicted of heresy and burned at the stake.

William Tyndale

An English scholar who translated the Bible into English directly from the original Greek and Hebrew texts.

Erasmus

A famous scholar from Northern Europe who criticized Church corruption and pushed for peaceful reform, helping inspire later reformers.

Johann Tetzel

A Catholic priest who aggressively sold indulgences to raise money for St. Peter's Basilica, which pushed Martin Luther to take a stand.

Charles V

The Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain who put Martin Luther on trial at the Diet of Worms and declared him an outlaw.

Ignatius Loyola

A Spanish priest who founded the Jesuits to spread Catholicism and defend the faith against Protestant ideas.

95 Theses

A list of 95 complaints written by Martin Luther criticizing Church corruption—especially indulgences—and nailed to a church door in 1517, starting the Reformation.

Diet of Worms (1521)

A trial-like assembly where Emperor Charles V ordered Martin Luther to take back his statements. Luther refused and was declared an official outlaw.

Peasants' Revolt (1524)

A violent uprising by German peasants demanding better working conditions. When Luther refused to support their violence, landowners crushed the revolt, killing over 130,000 peasants.

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

An agreement stating that each German prince could choose whether his region would be Catholic or Lutheran.

Causes of the Reformation

Corruption in the Catholic Church (selling positions and indulgences), immoral behavior by some priests, the rise of humanism, and the invention of the printing press.

Council of Trent (1545-1563)

A long series of Catholic Church meetings that put an end to financial corruption and improved priest education, but refused to change core Catholic doctrines.

Jesuits

A disciplined group of Catholic priests who built schools, converted non-Catholics around the world, and fought the spread of Protestantism.

The Index

A list of dangerous books banned by the Catholic Church (including books by Luther and Calvin) to stop Protestant ideas from spreading.

Inquisition

A Catholic Church court created to find, question, and punish heretics, famous for harsh interrogations in Spain.

Johannes Gutenberg

The German craftsman who invented the movable-type printing press around 1448.

Printing Press

A machine that made making books fast and cheap, completely changing how fast news and ideas spread.

Effects of the Printing Press

Made books cheap, helped people learn to read, spread the Bible in local languages, aided mapmakers during global exploration, and allowed new ideas to spread too fast for the Church to stop.

Humanism

A Renaissance way of thinking that focused on human potential, education, classical texts, and everyday life—not just religious matters.

Humanities

Academic subjects that study human culture, including history, literature, philosophy, and art.

Joan of Arc

A 15th-century French peasant girl who claimed to hear divine visions and led French troops in the Hundred Years' War; she was executed for heresy at age 19 and later made a saint.

Katharina Schütz Zell

A German writer who published defenses of married clergy and turned her home into a refuge for thousands of Protestant refugees.

Argula von Grumbach

A German noblewoman who became a famous writer, publishing popular pamphlets defending Protestant ideas and challenging male university professors.

Marie Dentière

A former nun who wrote advocating for women's rights to be educated and preach, famously asking why women should be treated differently in religion.

Queen Marguerite of Navarre & Queen Jeanne d'Albret

A royal mother and daughter who protected Protestant thinkers and led French Protestants through religious wars.

Witch Hunts

A period between 1400 and 1700 where 50,000 to 100,000 people across Europe were executed for witchcraft—80% to 85% of whom were women.