the protestant reformation and the enlightenment

key takeaways:

• led to important political and social change within europe

• growth of science, reason, and the beginnings of capitalism

• challenge of the catholic church created led to a lot changes within europe

• shifted power from church to individual rulers

• formed religious and political conflicts

• destabilized the monarchy

• new political ideas

  • individualism
  • freedom of conscience
  • democracy

• focus on asserting your rights and questioning authority

• new economic systems

• education and literacy

• scientific revolution and enlightenment

• people interpreted biblical passages in all sorts of ways, resulting in the fracturing of catholism

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%%protestant reformation%%

the split within the catholic church

martin luther

• priest and professor
• started the religious and cultural movement in the 16th century
• wrote the Ninety-Five Theses (1517)
• critiqued the practices and teachings of the roman catholic church
• disliked the sale of indulgences (passes that would “forgive” sins)
• protantism and lutherism
• changed the religious and political landscape of europe
• he’s a skeptic, he’s a thinker

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• he didn’t just blindly believe the church

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why did the protestant reformation happen

• sparked by criticisms of the catholic church made by martin luther
• ideas challenged the authority of the church
• spread through europe because of the printing press
• paved the way for the modern world
  • promoted religious tolerance
  • growth of science and reason
• played a role in developing capitalism
  • protestanisms emphasis on hard work, frugality and individual responsibility

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political implications caused by the protestant reformation

• because it challenged the authority and power of the catholic church
  • one of the most powerful and influential institutions in europe
  • had political influence and a lot of land and wealth
• reformation shifted power from the church to individual rulers
• created a new religious landscape in europe, leading to conflicts between catholics and protestants
• not just religious conflict but political as well
• catholic monarchs fought to maintain control over the spreaing of protestantism
• struggle for power led to war and political instability
  • thirty years war (1618-1648)
• new political ideas
  • individualism
  • freedom of conscience
  • democracy
• Protestantism placed more emphasis on an individuals relationship with god
• question authority and assert rights

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social implications caused by the protestant reformation

• questioning the established order of society
• spread of new ideas about personal responsibility
• challenged the authority of the church and the powers that supported it
• transformation of religious practices and the way people worshipped
• rejected the tradition practices of the catholic church
• new literary and artistic traditions that were different from the catholic church
• new forms of art

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economic implications

• challenged the church’s control of land and wealth
• confiscation of the church’s property by the state
• new economic systems and the rise of capitalism

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unintended effects and consequences

• wars and conflicts
  • thirty years war
  • religious and political
• religious intolerance
  • increased intolerance and persecution
  • catholics and protestants fought to assert dominance (y didnt they j kiss tbh)
  • led to the persecution of other religious minorities (jews, etc)
  • the reformation did lead to greater religious tolerance in some ways, but also lead to new intolerance in new forms that still appeat today
  • destruction of religious art
  • taking of land
• changes in social and political structures
  • monarchs took advantage of the conflicts
• education and literacy
  • reformation encouraged education and literacy
  • leaders believed people should read and interpret for themselves
• growth of capitalism
  • work hard and pursue economic interests
• scientific revolution
  • encouraged pursuit of knowledge and use of reason

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how did the protestant reformation contribute to historical globalization

why did nationalism spread religious intolerance

• the spread of protestantism
  • through europe and beyond
  • missionaries and evangelists spreading beliefs
  • establishment of communities in new regions
• printing press
  • was helped by the invention of the printing press
  • spread new ideas and information quickly
  • literacy rates and the spread of knowledge
• rise of nationalism
  • movements stressed the important of a state and chosen people
  • led to greater conflict and competition between countries
• trade and commerce
  • economic implications
  • more liberal trade policies
  • encouraged capitalism

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]]enlightenment]]

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how did the protestant reformation lead to the enlightenment

• challenged authority of the catholic church
• paved the way for new ways of thinking and questioning traditional beliefs
• new way of thinking → scientific method
• exploration of new fields
• natural science, philosophy, social science
• individual freedom and autonomy
• break down traditional social hierarchies
• emphasis on personal faith and individual interpretation
  • challenged authority like the monarchy and the church

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what was the enlightenment

• period of intellectual and philosophical growth that began in europe
• reason, rationality, scientific inquiry
• questioned tradition authority
  • church and monarchy
• advocate for individual freedoms and rights
• advances in tech and knowledge

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how did it contribute to historical globalization

• encouraged spread of scientific knowledge and ideas
  • renewed interest in exploration and discovery
  • european nations sending out expeditions to explore new lands, establish colonies, and make contact with other cultures
• challenged traditional ways of thinking
  • question established authority
  • religious institutions
  • political systems
  • new political ideas
• cultural exchange and tolerance
  • people from different cultures begin to learn about others
  • breaking down of cultural barriers

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<<the protestant work ethic<<

religious competition

Puritans were protestants

the first big wave of europeans who arrived in the us, were protestants

they fled there to escape religious persecution

prior to the various protestant religions emerging

missionaries had been spreading the word of god in all sorts of remote parts of the globe

salvation (through jihad or through the crusades) was a critical component in imperial expansion long before 1500s

jesuits were formed as a reaction to protestants

while martin luther started the protestant reformation, others extended it

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john calvin and predestination

predestination concerned the role of god in determining your salvation

the idea was that god’s omnipotence meant he knew your destiny from the moment you were born to the moment of your death

even the most virtuous catholic was not guaranteed access to heaven

people had no influence of god

that being said, however there may be signs of your being amongst the chosen (the elect)

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max weber

a pioneering german sociologist who wrote “the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism” in 1905

weber suggested that “tireless labour” was the surest sign that you belonged in gods chosen

weber referred to this as the protestant work ethic

while certainly the catholic focus on “good works” instilled productivity, the idea that your own personal success may be an indicator of gods grace upon you inspired, according to weber, much more productivity

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the most productive economies in europe tended to be in norther europe and protestant: England, germany, holland, Belgium, etc

it has been noted that the united states ended up being predominantly populated by protestants up until to the 1850s

as you know, once wealth is created it tends to be invested somewhere else

this typically starts locally, but if possibly it will be invested into other parts of the world