unit 2

Long Term Factors:
- Religious:
- Clerical abuses including worldliness, ignorance, pluralism (absenteeism), nepotism, simony, and sale of indulgences.
- Decline of church prestige due to events like the Great Schism.
- Influence of early reformers such as Wycliffe, Huss, and Erasmus.
- Intellectual & Technological:
- Renaissance/Humanism leading to questioning of established norms.
- Invention of the Printing Press aiding the spread of reformist ideas.
- Political/Economic/Social:
- Kings and princes striving for autonomy within their territories.
- Middle class seeking to manage their own affairs.
- Common people protesting against social order inequities.

Luther's journey includes a personal struggle with achieving salvation and feelings of guilt.
He believed that the Church emphasized good works and faith studies but was influenced by St. Paul’s teachings on salvation through faith alone.

Context:
- Reacting against Johann Tetzel's aggressive sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, claiming they could reduce time in purgatory for deceased relatives.
- The idea of both purchasing certificates to help pay for St. Peter's basilica and the ensuing spread of his ideas facilitated by the printing press.

Core Doctrines:
- Salvation achieved through faith alone (sola fide).
- The Bible is the ultimate authority (sola scriptura).
- The Church is a community of believers with spiritual equality.
- Only two sacraments recognized: baptism and communion, with the belief in "consubstantiation."
- Advocacy for the abolishment of monasteries and allowing clergy to marry.

Causes:
- Existing grievances articulated in the 12 Articles demanding the end of manorialism/feudalism and halting noble oppression.
- Peasants mistakenly aligning Luther's messages with their quest for freedom.
Consequences:
- Approximately 100,000 killed; nobility's power reinforced.
Luther’s Response:
- Condemned rebellion; emphasized the necessity of obedience to rulers.

Conflict:
- Protestant German princes politically opposing the Catholic Charles V.
- Formulation of the League of Schmalkaldic to protect Luther's followers and claim church properties, seeking to reduce the Holy Roman Emperor's power.

Key Provisions:
- Affirms the principle “whose region, his religion” (cuius regio eius religio), recognizing Lutheranism legally within the Holy Roman Empire.
- The ruler’s faith dictates the religion of the subjects, excluding Calvinism and other minorities.

Book: Institutes of the Christian Religion offers political and religious reforms.
Aligns with Luther’s criticisms while introducing concepts such as predestination and 'the elect.'
Establishes a theocratic government in Geneva, spreading Calvinism across Western Europe.

Beliefs:
- Predestination:
- The notion that God already determines who will be saved.
- The Elect:
- Individuals chosen by God to be saved; living according to God's laws serves as a sign of being among the elect (including signs of prosperity linked to the "Protestant work ethic").

Establishment of a theocracy blending religious beliefs with governance.
The Bible regarded as the highest law; certain civilian actions (like missing church or playing cards) are penalized.

Beliefs:
- Rejected infant baptism; only consenting adults should be baptized.
- Advocated exclusion from non-believing society—conflicting with both Catholic and Protestant governments.
- Emphasized simplicity of life.

Background:
- Dissatisfied with his marriage to Catherine of Aragon due to the lack of a male heir.
- Pope's refusal to annul the marriage leads Henry to establish the Anglican Church, leveraging Parliament to declare him its head.

Act of Supremacy (1534):
- Declares Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England.
Six Articles:
- Establishes doctrine of the English Church reaffirming many Catholic teachings while rejecting Protestant principles.

E.g., Elizabeth I and Henry IV (Henry of Navarre) seek political stability over strict adherence to faith.

Attempts to moderate between Catholic and Protestant factions by restoring Anglicanism
Permits English services, priest marriages, yet retains traditional episcopal structures.

The Church’s response to Protestant challenges aiming to reform its practices and curb the spread of Protestantism.

Reforms:
- Addressing abuses within the Church, including cessation of indulgence sales.
- Building better clerical education while reaffirming Catholic doctrine regarding faith, good works, and sacramental importance.

Leadership:
- Founded by Ignatius Loyola focusing on discipline and education.
Goals:
- Education through schools, missionary work globally, and combatting Protestantism, especially in regions like Bavaria and Poland.

The Inquisition functioned to identify heresy within a context of strict Church policy.
The Index included works critiquing the Church, suggesting protective effects against misleading spiritual or scientific content.

Introduced dramatic light/dark contrasts, realistic figures versus idealized portraiture, and grand architectural features.
Aimed at re-engaging the faithful and reflecting the Church’s renewed vigor during the Reformation.

Political and economic decline following aggressive actions including the Inquisition in the Netherlands, and failure of the Spanish Armada against England.
Resulted in the “Golden Age” for the Dutch and strengthened England’s global trade ambitions.

Huguenots: Calvinism's appeal to French nobles opposing Valois kings, leading to civil strife.
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: Triggered by fears surrounding Huguenots’ growing power; results in widespread violence.
Henry IV’s Leadership & Edict of Nantes: Balances Catholic desires with recognition of Protestant rights to pacify the nation.

Driven initially by religious divisions and political conflicts between Catholic and Protestant powers in Europe.

Resulted in recognizing Calvinism as a legal faith, allowing rulers to determine the religion of their states, establishing diplomatic autonomy for German states, and affirming independence for the Dutch and Swiss.