Protestant Reformation and Wars of Religion

Initial Split of the Christian Church

In October, the Christian church experienced its first major split.
This split resulted in the formation of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Following the split, the Roman Catholic Church became the dominant religious force in Western Europe.

Corruption within the Catholic Church (1500s)

The Catholic Church became entangled in politics and accumulated wealth.
This led to instances of corruption, including:
- Simony: The buying and selling of Church offices.
- Nepotism: Appointing family and friends to church offices, regardless of qualification.
- Indulgences: Selling indulgences allowed people to buy salvation or reduce time in purgatory.
- The church justified these practices to fund projects like the renovation of Saint Peter's Basilica.

Martin Luther and the 95 Theses

Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and Christian humanist, challenged the Church's corruption.
Luther's study of the Book of Romans led him to believe:
- Salvation is attained by grace alone through faith, a free gift from Christ.
- This contrasted with the Church's teaching that salvation was earned through faith and good works, including indulgences.
Luther believed that the Scriptures alone should be the source of authority for Christians, not the Pope or church dogmas.
He also advocated for the priesthood of all believers, rejecting the hierarchical structure of the Church.
On October 31, 1517, Luther composed 95 theses criticizing the Church's corruption and calling for reform.
He nailed these theses to the Wittenberg church door.
The printing press facilitated the rapid spread of Luther's ideas throughout the German states of the Holy Roman Empire.

Conflict with the Church

Church officials denounced Luther as a heretic for rejecting accepted beliefs.
Luther was put on trial at the Diet of Worms, where he refused to recant his statements.
As a result, he was excommunicated from the Church.
Luther went into hiding under the protection of Prince Frederick the Third, one of the German princes who supported him.
The princes supported Luther to weaken the Pope's power and increase their own.

Impact of the Printing Press

Luther was not the first reformer to criticize the Catholic Church (e.g., John Wycliffe, Jan Hus).
The printing press played a crucial role in the success of Luther's protest.
Luther utilized books, pamphlets, and broadsides to disseminate his ideas.
By 1520, approximately 300,000 copies of his pamphlets were circulating across Germany and England.
Luther preached in German (the vernacular), making his teachings accessible to ordinary people.
He translated the Bible into German, further spreading Protestant doctrine.
The availability of the Bible in the vernacular supported the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.

John Calvin and the Reformation in Switzerland

John Calvin, initially a follower of Luther, led the Reformation in Switzerland.
Calvin and Luther diverged on interpretations of salvation.
Calvin's major theological developments:
- Predestination: God has predetermined who will be saved and who will not.
- Doctrine of the Elect: Those chosen by God for salvation cannot lose their salvation.
Membership in the elect was indicated by a desire for salvation and good works.
Calvinism differed from Catholicism, which taught that faith and good works were necessary for salvation.
Calvin believed salvation was by faith alone, with good works as a natural outcome.
Wealth accumulation was seen as a sign of election, but Christians were obligated to use wealth to care for the poor.
Calvin established a welfare state in Geneva.
In Geneva, the church and state were closely intertwined, creating a theocracy.
The Bible served as the law, and citizens were required to attend church regularly.
Strict rules governed behavior, with punishments for disobedience.
Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion provided doctrinal order to Protestant churches and spread through Europe thanks to the printing press.
Calvinism led to the creation of Presbyterians in Scotland, Huguenots in France, and Puritans in England.

Anabaptists

Anabaptists shared Reformation principles with Luther and Calvin but differed on baptism.
They believed only adults could be baptized, as only they could consciously affirm their beliefs.
They advocated for the separation of church and state.
They were pacifists who refused military service.

Europe's Wars of Religion: France

Religious conflicts led to armed conflicts between European states.
In France, Protestantism gained a significant following, with French Protestants known as Huguenots.
Nearly half of French nobles converted to Calvinism and sought recognition.
Catherine de Medici, acting as regent for Charles IX, aimed to eliminate the Huguenots.
The French Wars of Religion began with the Massacre of Vassy in 1562, where Huguenots were killed during a worship service.
The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572 resulted in the deaths of 10,000 to 20,000 Protestants.
The War of the Three Henrys (1587) involved Henry III, Henry of Navarre, and Henry of Guise vying for the French throne.
Henry of Navarre eventually became King Henry IV and issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598, granting religious freedom to Huguenots while establishing Catholicism as the official religion.

Europe's Wars of Religion: Holy Roman Empire

The Thirty Years' War was the last major war of the Protestant Reformation.
The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 allowed rulers in the Holy Roman Empire to choose between Lutheranism and Catholicism for their states.
The Holy Roman Empire consisted of loosely confederated states with individual rulers answerable to the Emperor.
Calvinism was not included in the Peace of Augsburg, leading to conflict.
In 1618, a Calvinist leader, Frederick I, challenged the Catholic absolutism of Emperor Ferdinand II.
Ferdinand broke the Peace of Augsburg by closing Lutheran churches in Bohemia.
The Defenestration of Prague, where Ferdinand's officials were thrown out of a window, sparked the Thirty Years' War.
Four phases of the Thirty Years’ War:
- Bohemian Phase (1618-1625) Small localized war in Bohemia between the Protestant Union and the catholic league. Holy Roman Empire Ferdinand II defeated Protestant Frederick I.
- Danish Phase (1625-1630) King of Denmark, a protestant, attacked the Catholics. King of Denmark was defeated.
- Swedish Phase (1630-1635) King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden organized the Protestant cause and won several victories for the Protestants. Cardinal Richelieu of France funded this Protestant cause.
- French Phase (1635-1648) France entered the war on the Protestants side and fought the Habsburgs in Spain.
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the Thirty Years' War and marked the end of religious wars in Europe.
The Peace of Westphalia amended the Augsburg Agreement to include Calvinism
It weakened the Holy Roman Emperor and strengthened individual state rulers and hastened the decline of the Holy Roman Empire.
Officially marked the end of the medieval idea of universal Christendom.

Catholic Reformation (Counter-Reformation)

The Catholic Church underwent its own reformation in response to criticisms and the loss of followers to Protestantism.
Pope Paul III established the Roman Inquisition to arrest and execute heretics.
The Church created an index of prohibited books.
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) aimed to reform the Catholic Church and seek reconciliation with Protestants.
The Council addressed corrupt practices, such as simony and the sale of indulgences.
It reaffirmed the celibacy of the clergy.
The Council reaffirmed Catholic doctrines, such as transubstantiation, papal authority, and the seven sacraments, making reconciliation with Protestants impossible.
New religious orders, such as the Carmelite Order (led by Saint Teresa of Avila) and the Jesuits (founded by Ignatius of Loyola), were established.
The Jesuits focused on spiritual renewal, education, and missionary work in various parts of the world.

Social Hierarchy

Social status was defined by class, religion, and gender.
Class status shifted with the rise of the merchant elite, making upward mobility possible.
Land ownership remained prestigious, as seen in the English Parliament.
Religious beliefs influenced social standing, as seen in the persecution of Huguenots in France and Jews in Spain.
Patriarchy dominated, with women expected to submit to men and excluded from economic and political life.
The Renaissance and Reformation raised debates about women's roles in society.
The querelle des femmes debated whether women were fit for university education.
The status of women differed between Catholicism and Protestantism. While Catholic women could not be priests, and therefore could hold no position of authority over a man, they could become nuns. Whereas on the Protestant side of things, Luther and Calvin both taught that the wife ought to be subservient to her husband. Only Anabaptists allowed women positions of Authority and some even became preachers.

Public Morals and Leisure

City governments created laws to legislate public morals, taking over tasks previously performed by the church.
Many municipal authorities outlawed prostitution.
Protestant leaders attempted to restrict festivities during Carnival.
Local church authorities used public punishments and humiliations to maintain social norms.
A new culture of leisure emerged, with people attending blood sports and Saints' Day festivities.

Folk Ideas and Witchcraft Craze

Many people held onto folk ideas.
The witchcraft craze of the 16th and 17th centuries led to the execution of 40,000 to 60,000 people, mainly women.
Witchcraft was seen as a pact with the devil and a threat to Christianity.
The belief in witchcraft was tied to the belief that women were morally weaker and more susceptible to the devil.
A majority of these executions occurred in the Holy Roman Empire, possibly due to social upheaval and the Thirty Years' War.

Art

Mannerism emerged during the Renaissance, using distorted figures and vibrant colors to convey emotion.
Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" is an example of Mannerism.
Baroque art developed during the Catholic Reformation, emphasizing extravagance, detail, emotion, and drama.
The Catholic Church used Baroque art to appeal to people and critique Protestant art.
Peter Paul Rubens was a prominent Baroque artist.