Protestant Reformation (CE 11)

Social causes of the Protestant Reformation

• The Renaissance values of humanism and secularism led people to question the Church

• The printing press helped to spread ideas critical of the Church

Political causes of the Protestant Reformation

• Powerful monarchs challenged the Church as the supreme power in Europe

• Many leaders viewed the pope as a foreign ruler and challenged his authority

Economic causes of the Protestant Reformation

• European princes and kings were jealous of the Church’s wealth

• Merchants and others resented having to pay taxes to the Church

Religious causes of the Protestant Reformation

• Some Church leaders had become worldly and corrupt

• Many people found Church practices such as the sale of indulgences unacceptable

Martin Luther became increasingly disillusioned and disappointed with the corruption and worldliness that he saw in the Roman Catholic Church. Name and explain 2 practices  that he had a problem with the Church in Rome and that he severely criticized

1) The sales of indulgences: Indulgences were not supposed to affect God’s right to judge. Unfortunately, Tetzel gave people the impression that by buying indulgences, they could buy their way into heaven.

2) He was against the authority of the Pope, believing that all church teaching should be based on the Bible, and people did not need priests to interpret the Bible

What is an indulgence?

An indulgence was a pardon. It released a sinner from performing the penalty that a priest imposed for sins

What is the name of the German priest who Martin Luther was critical of?

Johann Tetzel- he raised money for the Vatican’s building projects

How did Luther take a public stand?

Luther nailed the 95 Theses or formal statements on the Church doors in Wittenberg, on October 31

What are the three branches of Protestanism?

• Lutheranism

• Calvinism

• Anglicanism

Luther’s ideas spread throughout Europe because of what invention?

The printing press spread these secular ideas because of its ability to produce and distribute texts cheaply and quickly. Luther’s pamphlets, written in German and easy to read, were rapidly printed and distributed, reaching a wider audience than before.

What two methods did Luther use so the average German person could read his writings and his new translation of the Bible?

• Translated the Bible into German from the original Greek texts

• Illustrations

How many Sacraments do the Protestants celebrate? Which Ones?

They celebrate two sacraments:

• Baptism

• The Eucharist

Pope Leo the Xth called for Luther to be arrested in a Papal Bull. Who protected Luther from capture and arrest? He held him under “house arrest where Luther could continue his criticisms of the Pope”

Prince Frederick the Wise of Saxony

What was the result of Martin Luther being put under “House Arrest“ by Prince Frederick the Wise?

Luther discovered that many of his ideas were already being put into practice. Instead of continuing to seek reforms in the Catholic Church, Luther and his followers had become a separate religious group, called Lutherans.

Predestination

It is a doctrine that Calvin believed that God has known since the beginning of time who

will be saved.

English Act of Supremacy (King Henry the 8th)

Passed by Parliament in 1534, it called on people to take an oath accepting Henry, not the pope, as the official head of England’s Church

How and why did the Protestant Reformation and the Counter reformation become political issues?

As the Catholic Church’s moral and political authority declined, individual monarchs and states gained power. This led to the development of modern nation-states. In the 1600s, rulers of nation-states would seek more power for themselves and their countries through warfare, exploration, and expansion.

Council of Trent recomendaitons

• The Church’s interpretation of the Bible was final. Any Christian who substituted his or her own interpretation was a heretic.

• Christians needed faith and good works for salvation. They were not saved by faith alone, as Luther argued.

• The Bible and Church tradition were equally powerful authorities for guiding Christian life.

• Indulgences were valid expressions of faith. But the false selling of indulgences was banned.