AP Euro Unit 2 | Ch 3 Protestant Reformation

Causes of the Reformation

• Simony (selling offices), Nepotism (family favors), Pluralism (holding multiple offices), Absenteeism, indulgences, priestly ignorance.

• Printing Press

• Fragmented Germany (HRE)/princes revolting

• "New Piety" (lay movements) sought direct relationship with God.

• Ren antiquity & Christian Huamanism.

Lutheranism (Germany)

• Sola Fide: Salvation by Faith Alone (not good works).

• Sola Scriptura: Authority lies only in the Bible (not Pope/Tradition).

• Priesthood of All Believers: All Christians are spiritually equal.

• 2 Sacraments: Baptism & Eucharist (Consubstantiation/Real Prescence).

Marburg Colloquy (1529)

Meeting (Luther vs. Zwingli) that failed to unite Protestants over the Eucharist doctrine (Real Prescence vs. Symbolic).

Anabaptists

• Key belief: Adult baptism

• Advocated separation of Church/State and pacifism (Schleitheim Confession)

John Calvin

• Geneva Theocrat.

• Key doctrine: Predestination ("Elect").

• Wrote Institutes of Christian Religion (Calvinist manuel) & Geneva Catechism (Book for help children understand faith)

• Influenced Protestant work ethic

Calvin’s Geneva

• Theocracy (Church/State merged)

• Governed by the Consistory (regulatory moral court) w/ strict moral codes

• Refuge for Protestants.

Edward VI

Embraced full Protestantism (Calvinist influence) via Book of Common Prayer.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

• Spanish author who wrote Don Quixote

• Satirized the romanticized ideals of medieval chivalry and tradition of the time

William Shakespeare

• English dramatist

• Works showed universal human themes, often rooted in contemporary religious traditions

95 Theses (1517)

• Luther's arguments against Indulgences (sold by Tetzel for St. Peter's Basilica) posted on Church door

• Marked the start of the Reform, spread via printing press.

Augsburg Confession

• Articles of Lutheran beliefs (Church abuses)

• Presented at Diet of Augsburg, but rejected

• Led to formation of Schmalkaldic League

Tragedy at Münster

Radical Anabaptist attempt at theocracy by expelling dissenters; crushed by both Catholic and Protestant forces.

Thomas More

Henry VIII’s advisor; executed for refusing to recognize Acts of Succession & Supremacy

Act of Supremacy (1534)

Made the King (Henry VIII) the Supreme Head of the Church of England (broke from Rome).

Mary I/Tudor (“Bloody Mary”)

Attempted to restore Catholicism by reverting changes; persecuted Protestants; failed (led to Marian Exiles).

Elizabeth I

• Politique (unity > doctrine)

• Established Anglicanism (Protestant doctrine, Catholic ritual) via the Elizabethan Settlement.

• Allowed private worship & forced Book of Common Prayer

Politique

Politicians who prioritized political unity over other parts of society (religious unity)

Teresa de Avila

Spanish mystic who reformed the Carmelite order, stressing deep personal prayer and self-discipline.

Catholic (Counter) Reformation

• Response to Protestantism.

• Key elements: Council of Trent, Jesuits, and the Roman Inquisition (persecution of heretics).

Council of Trent

• Reaffirmed Catholic Dogma (7 Sacraments, Faith + Works, Scripture + Tradition), cementing division

• Reformed abuses (simony, priest training, indulgences)

• Approved Index of Forbidden Books

• Established public/parental consent for valid marriage.

Jesuits (Ignatius of Loyola)

• Founded to fight Protestantism through education and missionary work

• Vowed chastity & obedience to Pope

Impact on Women

• Domestic role glorified (housewife/mother) due to Protestant clergy marriage

• Literacy increased; girls gained vernacular edu

• Lost status/career path (convents closed).

• Laws for equality (divorce) & protection

Baroque Art

• Style of the Counter-Reformation

• Used dramatic light/emotion to convey the power and glory of the Catholic Church & regain spirituality of common ppl

• Example: Paul Rubens (The Elevation of the Cross; intense action around Christ)

Christian Humanism (Northern)

• Goal: Reform Church from within using education and simple early-Christian piety (ad fontes).

• Erasmus: Wrote In Praise of Folly (satire of clergy); "Laid the egg that Luther hatched."

• Thomas More: Wrote Utopia; executed for refusing Henry VIII's break from Rome.

Indulgences

• Definition: Paper grants lessening time in Purgatory for sins.

• Trigger: Pope Leo X sold them to fund St. Peter’s Basilica; marketed aggressively by Tetzel.

• Result: Sparked Luther's 95 Theses.

Diet of Worms (1521)

Meeting where Charles V declared Luther an outlaw after he refused to recant his writings.

German Peasants' Revolt (1525)

• Peasants used "Christian Freedom"/sola fide to rebel.

• Luther condemned it as it threatened his sect & to secure Princely support, who crushed it

Schmalkaldic League

• Lutheran Princes' defensive alliance against Charles V (distracted by Habsburg-Valois War).

• Ended Cath unity

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

• Ended religious civil war in HRE.

• Principle: Cuius regio, eius religio (ruler's choice of religion Lutheranism/Catholicism).

Henry VIII’s Motive

• Political/Dynastic: Wanted papal annulment (no male heir); Pope refused (due to Charles V).

• Formed Anglican Church, Act of Supremacy, Act of Succession (forced to recognize heir)

Impact on Education

• Protestants (Luther/Calvin) emphasized universal literacy (Bible) & personal understanding

• Vernacular lit, humanist themes

• Jesuits created elite humanist schools

Theological Consensus

Vernacular worship and fewer holidays (Puritan influence) became common across Protestant regions.

Witchcraft Craze

• Surge in persecutions (c. 1580–1650)

• Blamed social/religious upheaval; victims were often single/widowed women

Imperial Distractions

Charles V was preoccupied by wars vs. France (Habsburg-Valois War) and Ottoman Turks, allowing the Reform to solidify.

Family Impact (Reformation)

• Nuclear Family model favored

• Children sent out (8-13) for apprenticeships/work

• Remarriage common/quick for utility (especially widows/widowers)

German Pietism

• 17th-18th cent. movement within Lutheranism

• Emphasized deep personal faith and spiritual experience over dogmatic rigidity

Religious Map (Post-1555)

• Catholic: Spain, Italy, Austria, S. Germany, France

• Lutheran: N. Germany, Scandinavia (SWE, DEN, NOR)

• Calvinist: Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland

Anticlericalism (Early 16th C.)

Focused on piests who preached messages contrary to church doctrine

Massacre at Vassy

Guise massacred many Huguenots @ Vassy, starting French rel wars