apwh chatper 5 vocab

Protestant Reformation

16th-century religious movement that shattered Western Christendom’s unity; began 1517 with Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses and produced new Protestant churches, reshaping European religion, politics, and culture.

Martin Luther

German priest (1483–1546) who taught salvation by faith alone, the Bible as sole authority, and the priesthood of all believers; triggered the Reformation and challenged papal authority.

Thirty Years’ War

Catholic–Protestant conflict (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire that killed 15–30% of Germans; ended with the Peace of Westphalia, affirming state sovereignty over religion.

Counter-Reformation

Catholic response to Protestantism; clarified doctrine at the Council of Trent, corrected abuses, reemphasized sacraments, priestly celibacy, papal authority, and used new orders like Jesuits for revival and missionary work.

Taki Onqoy

1560s Andean revivalist movement (“dancing sickness”) predicting return of local gods (huacas) to defeat Christianity and Spanish rule; symbol of indigenous resistance.

Jesuits (Society of Jesus)

Catholic religious order founded 1540; emphasized education, discipline, and global missions. In China, they accommodated Confucian culture, gaining imperial favor through science and astronomy.

Voudou (Vodou)

Syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion blending West African spirituality with Catholic saints and rituals; example of religious blending under European colonization.

Wahhabi Movement

18th-century Islamic reform movement in Arabia calling for purification of Islam, rejection of “innovations,” and strict monotheism; parallel to Reformation-style revivalism.

Neo-Confucianism

Ming–Qing synthesis of Confucianism with Buddhist and Daoist thought; provided the moral and intellectual framework of China’s state and civil service system.

Wang Yangming

Late-Ming Neo-Confucian philosopher (1472–1529) who argued that moral knowledge is innate and virtue is achieved through introspection, not just classical study; criticized for encouraging individualism.

The Dream of the Red Chamber

18th-century novel by Cao Xueqin with 120 chapters and 400+ characters; detailed life of an elite Qing family and highlighted roles of women; major work of China’s popular urban culture.

Mirabai

North Indian bhakti poet (1498–1547) who abandoned high-caste life to devote herself to Krishna, expressing radical personal devotion and social critique.

Sikhism

Religious tradition emerging in 16th-century Punjab blending Hindu and Islamic ideas; rejected caste, upheld gender equality, developed scripture (Guru Granth), and later became a distinct and partly militant community.

Guru Nanak

Founder of Sikhism (1469–1539); taught “there is no Hindu, there is no Muslim — only God,” promoting direct devotion and equality; comparable to Luther in challenging religious norms and founding a new path.

Copernicus

Polish astronomer (1473–1543) who proposed the heliocentric model — sun at the center, earth in orbit — challenging Church-supported geocentric cosmology.

Galileo Galilei

Italian scientist (1564–1642) who improved the telescope, observed craters, sunspots, and Jupiter’s moons, providing evidence for heliocentrism; tried by the Inquisition and placed under house arrest.

Isaac Newton

English scientist (1642–1727) who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, unifying heavens and earth under the same natural laws and cementing the Scientific Revolution.

Enlightenment

18th-century intellectual movement applying reason, science, and natural law to society and government; emphasized progress, secularism, human rights, and reform.

Voltaire

French Enlightenment thinker (1694–1778) who attacked religious intolerance, promoted freedom of speech and religion, and admired Confucian rational governance.

Mary Wollstonecraft

British writer (1759–1797) and early feminist who argued for women’s education and equality (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman), challenging Enlightenment thinkers like Rousseau.

Kaozheng

Qing-era Chinese intellectual movement meaning “research based on evidence”; emphasized critical scholarship, accuracy, and verification, often applied to history, medicine, and agriculture rather than abstract speculation.