The PROTESTANT REFORMATION:

The Movement to Reshape Christianity

UNIT SUMMARY:

Renaissance ideas caused people in Europe to begin focusing on the real world and use observation and reason to solve problems. Unfortunately for the Roman Catholic Church, people started seeing problems with the way the Church was run and some of the practices and teachings they promoted. One such person was a German Catholic priest named Martin Luther.

Martin Luther wanted to improve the Catholic Church and fix some of the things he viewed as problematic. The Church responded violently though and what followed was called the Protestant Reformation. Many people agreed with Luther and fought back to eventually succeed in separating from Catholicism to create their own Christian churches. Some countries remained Catholic and others became Protestant, forever changing the religious map of Europe.

During this unit you will focus on five different aspects of the Protestant Reformation and use the information you gather to help prepare for the unit assessment at the end. Our focus will include:

• Understanding the main problems people began to have with the Roman Catholic Church, primarily concerning worldliness and politics.

• Knowing ideas of early Catholic reformers and the Protestant Reformation as it began through the efforts of Martin Luther.

• Recognizing the ideas of other Reformation figures like Calvin and Tyndale.

• Understanding the Counter-Reformation and its impact.

• Explaining how the division of Catholics and Protestants in Europe affected the division of religion in the New World.

These problems led a number of Catholics to call for reform. They questioned the authority of Church leaders and some of the Church's teachings. Those who broke away from the Church entirely became known as “Protestants” because of their protests against the Catholic Church. The establishment of Protestant churches divided Christians into many separate groups.

In this lesson, you will learn about the factors that weakened the Roman Catholic Church and how a German priest, Martin Luther, ignited a movement that ended the religious unity of Europe. You will also learn about other early reformers and leaders of the Reformation.

The Weakening of the Catholic Church

By the Late Middle Ages, two major problems were weakening the Roman Catholic Church. The first was worldliness and corruption within the Church, and the second was political conflict between the pope and European monarchs.

Worldliness and Corruption Within the Church

During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church united the Christians of western Europe in a single faith. However, the Church was a political and economic institution as well as a religious one. By the 1300s, many Catholics felt that the Church had become too worldly and corrupt.

Too frequently, Church officials failed to live up to their role as spiritual leaders. For example, priests, monks, and nuns made vows, or solemn promises, not to marry or have children, but many broke these vows. Others seemed to ignore Christian values, and Church leaders often behaved like royalty instead of God's servants. For example, the popes, and many cardinals and bishops, were extremely wealthy and powerful.

People were also troubled by the way numerous Church officials raised money to support the church. One method was the practice of selling indulgences. An indulgence is a release from punishment for sins.

During the Middle Ages, the Church granted indulgences in exchange for gifts to the Church and good works. People who received indulgences were not required to perform good deeds to make up for their sins. Over time, popes and bishops started selling indulgences as a way of raising money. This practice made it seem that people could buy forgiveness for their sins, an abuse that deeply disturbed many Catholics.

The Church also sold offices, or leadership positions, a practice called simony. Instead of being chosen based on their merit and accomplishments, buyers simply paid for their jobs. Buying an office was worthwhile because it could be a source of income. Often, people acquired multiple offices in different locations without actually going there to perform their duties.

People questioned other practices as well. Some clergy charged pilgrims to see holy objects, such as the relics of saints.

In addition, all Catholics paid taxes to the Church. Many people resented having to pay taxes to Rome in addition to their own governments.

Political Conflicts with European Rulers

In the Middle Ages, the pope became a powerful political figure, as well as a religious leader, and the Church accumulated vast amounts of wealth. Its political and economic power presented a problem for monarchs because the Church claimed that its clergy were independent of political rulers' control.

As monarchs attempted to increase their own power, they frequently came into conflict with the pope. They quarreled with the pope over Church property and the right to make appointments to Church offices. In addition, popes became involved in other political conflicts, which prompted many to question the pope's authority and also damaged the Church's reputation.

One dramatic crisis unfolded in France in 1301. When King Philip IV tried to tax the French clergy, the pope threatened to force him out of the Church. In response, soldiers hired by the king kidnapped the pope. The pope was soon released, but he died a few weeks later.

The quarrel with the king ended under Pope Clement V. In 1309, Clement moved his headquarters from Rome to the French city of Avignon. During his reign, he appointed 24 new cardinals, 22 of whom were French. The next six popes also lived in Avignon and named more French cardinals. Many Europeans believed that France's kings now controlled the papacy, or the office of the pope, causing them to lose respect for the pope as the Church's supreme leader.

An even worse crisis developed after Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome in 1377. When Gregory died in 1378, an Italian was elected pope and refused to move back to Avignon. A group of cardinals, most of them French, left Rome and elected a rival pope, leading the Church to have one pope in Rome and one in Avignon. Later, a Church council elected a third pope. Each pope claimed to be the real head of the Church.

This division in the Church is called the Great Schism. For nearly 40 years, the various lines of popes denounced each other as impostors, which divided and confused Catholics. The Great Schism lessened people's respect for the papacy and sparked calls for reform.

Early Calls for Reform

By the 1300s, the Church was beginning to lose some of its moral and religious standing. Many Catholics, including clergy, criticized the corruption and abuses in the Church. They challenged the authority of the pope, questioned Church teachings, and started to develop new forms of Christian faith.

Reformers wanted to purify the Church, not destroy it. By challenging the Church's practices and teachings, however, they helped pave the way for the dramatic changes of the Reformation.

John Wycliffe (About 1330–1384)

John Wycliffe (WIH-cliff) was an English scholar who challenged the Church's right to money that it demanded from England. When the Great Schism began, he publicly questioned the pope's authority and criticized indulgences and immoral behavior on the part of the clergy.

During the Middle Ages, Church officials attempted to control how the Bible was interpreted. Wycliffe believed that the Bible, not the Church, was the supreme source of religious authority. Against Church tradition, he had the Bible translated from Latin into English so that common people could read it.

The pope accused Wycliffe of heresy, or opinions that contradict official doctrine. Wycliffe's followers were persecuted, and some of them were burned to death as heretics, or people who behave against official teachings. After his death, the Church had Wycliffe's writings burned, too. Despite the Church's opposition, however, Wycliffe's ideas had wide influence.

Jan Hus (About 1370–1415)

Jan Hus (huhs) was a priest in Bohemia, which today is in the Czech Republic. He read Wycliffe's writings and agreed with many of his ideas. Hus criticized the Church's vast wealth and spoke out against the pope's authority. The true head of the Church, he said, was Jesus Christ.

Hus sought to purify the Church, return it to the people, and end corruption among the clergy. He wanted both the Bible and mass to be offered in the common language of the people instead of in Latin. Hus was arrested and charged with heresy in 1414 and was burned at the stake in July 1415.

Like Wycliffe, Hus had a major influence on future reformers. Martin Luther would later say that he and his supporters were “all Hussites without knowing it.”

Catherine of Siena (1347–1380)

Catherine of Siena was a mystic — a person deeply devoted to religion and who has spiritual experiences. Born in the Italian city of Siena, she began having visions of Jesus when she was a child.

Catherine spent many long hours in prayer and wrote numerous letters about spiritual life. In addition, she involved herself in Church affairs. Her pleas helped to convince Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome from Avignon. Later, she traveled to Rome to attempt to end the Great Schism.

In 1461, the Church declared Catherine a saint. Her example showed that people could lead spiritual lives that went beyond the usual customs of the Church. She and other mystics emphasized personal experience of God more than formal observance of Church practices. This approach to faith helped prepare people for the ideas of the Reformation.

Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536)

Desiderius Erasmus was a humanist from Holland. A priest and devoted Catholic, he was one of the most outspoken figures in the call for reform.

In 1509, Erasmus published a book called The Praise of Folly. (Folly means “foolishness.”) The book was a sharply worded satire of society, including abuses by clergy and Church leaders, that argued for a return to simple Christian goodness.

Erasmus wanted to reform the Church from within and angrily denied that he was a Protestant who wanted to break away from the Catholic Church. However, perhaps more than any other individual, he helped to prepare Europe for the Reformation. His attacks on corruption in the Church contributed to many people's desire to leave Catholicism. For this reason, it has frequently been said that “Erasmus laid the egg, and Luther hatched it.”

Martin Luther Breaks Away from the Church

In the early 1500s in Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, a priest named Martin Luther became involved in a serious dispute with Church authorities. Condemned by the Catholic Church, Luther established the first Protestant church, which started the Reformation.

Luther's Early Life

Luther was born in Germany in 1483 and was raised as a devout Catholic. Luther's father wanted him to become a lawyer. As a young man, however, Luther was badly frightened when he was caught in a violent thunderstorm. As lightning flashed around him, he vowed that if he survived he would become a monk.

Luther kept his promise, joined an order of monks, and later became a priest. He studied the Bible thoroughly and developed a reputation as a scholar and teacher.

Luther Pushes for Change in the Catholic Church

The Church stressed that keeping the sacraments and living a good life were the keys to salvation. Luther's studies of the Bible led him to a different answer. He believed that it was impossible to earn salvation because it was a gift from God that people received in faith. People, he said, were saved by their faith, not by performing good works.

Luther's views brought him into conflict with the Church over indulgences. In 1517, Pope Leo X needed money to finish building St. Peter's Basilica, the grand cathedral in Rome. He sent preachers around Europe to sell indulgences. Buyers were promised pardons of all of their sins and those of friends and family. Luther was outraged because he felt that the Church was selling false salvation to uneducated people.

Luther posted a list of arguments, called theses, against indulgences and Church abuses on a church door in the town of Wittenberg. He also sent the list, called the Ninety-Five Theses, to Church leaders.

Luther's theses caused considerable controversy. Many people were excited by his ideas, despite being condemned by the Church.Gradually, he was drawn into more serious disagreements with Church authorities.

In response to critics, Luther published pamphlets that explained his thinking. He argued that the Bible — not the pope or Church leaders — was the ultimate source of religious authority. The only true sacraments, he said, were baptism and the Eucharist. The Church's other five sacraments had no basis in the Bible. Moreover, Luther said that all Christians were priests and, therefore, all should study the Bible for themselves.

In the eyes of Church leaders, Luther was attacking fundamental truths of the Catholic religion. In January 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated him, which meant he was no longer allowed membership in the Church.

In April 1521, Luther was brought before the Diet, an assembly of state leaders, in the German city of Worms. At the risk of his life, he refused to take back his teachings, prompting the Holy Roman emperor, Charles V, to declare Luther a heretic and forbid the printing or selling of his writings. For a time Luther went into hiding, but the movement he had started continued to spread.

Luther Starts His Own Church

Many Germans viewed Luther as a hero. As his popularity grew, he continued to develop his ideas. Soon he was openly organizing a new Christian denomination known as Lutheranism, which emphasized studying the Bible. Luther not only translated the Bible into German, but he also wrote a baptism service, a mass, and new hymns (sacred songs) in the language.

Having rejected the Church's hierarchy, Luther looked to German princes to support his church. When a peasants' revolt broke out in 1524, the rebels expected Luther to support their demands for social and economic change. Instead, Luther denounced the peasants and sided with the rulers because he needed their help to continue his new church's growth. By the time the uprising was crushed, tens of thousands of peasants had been brutally killed, so many rejected Lutheranism.

Several princes, however, supported Luther, and Lutheranism continued to grow. Over the next 30 years, Lutherans and Catholics were often at war in Germany. These religious wars ended in 1555 with the Peace of Augsburg, a treaty that permitted each prince within the Holy Roman Empire to determine the religion of his subjects.

The Peace of Augsburg was a major victory for Protestantism. Christian unity was at an end, and not only in Germany. As you will learn next, by this time a number of other Protestant churches had sprung up in northern Europe.

Other Leaders of the Reformation

The movement started by Martin Luther swept across much of Europe. Many people who were dismayed by abuses in the Church remained loyal Catholics, whereas others were attracted to new forms of the Christian faith. The printing press helped spread new ideas, as well as translations of the Bible, faster than ever before. In addition, government leaders had learned from Luther's experience that they could win religious independence from the Church. The Reformation succeeded most where rulers embraced Protestant faiths.

Many reformers contributed to the spread of Protestantism. Let's take a look at four leaders of the Reformation.

Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1530)

Huldrych Zwingli (HUL-drick ZVING-lee) was a Catholic priest in Zurich, Switzerland who was influenced by both Erasmus and Luther. After reading Luther's work, he persuaded the local government to ban any form of worship that was not based on the Bible. In 1523, Zurich declared its independence from the authority of the local Catholic bishop.

Zwingli wanted Christians to focus solely on the Bible, and he attacked the worship of relics, saints, and images. In the Protestant churches he founded, there were no religious statues or paintings, and services were very simple, without music or singing.

Zwingli carried his ideas to other Swiss cities. In 1530, war broke out between his followers and Swiss Catholics, and Zwingli died during the fighting.

John Calvin (1509–1564)

In the late 1530s, John Calvin, a French humanist, established another Protestant group in Geneva, Switzerland. His book, Institutes of the Christian Religion, became one of the most influential works of the Reformation.

Calvin emphasized that salvation came only from God's grace. He said that the “saved” whom God elected, or chose, lived according to strict standards. This idea is called predestination. He believed firmly in hard work and thrift, or the careful use of money. Success in business, he taught, was a sign of God's grace. Calvin tried to establish a Christian state in Geneva that would be ruled by God through the Calvinist Church.

Calvin influenced many other reformers, including John Knox, a Scotsman who lived in Geneva for a time. Knox led the Protestant reform that established the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

King Henry VIII (1491–1547)

England's Protestant Reformation was led by King Henry VIII. In 1534, Henry formed the Church of England, also called the Anglican Church, and named himself as its supreme head.

Unlike Luther and Calvin, King Henry did not have major disagreements with Catholic teachings. His reasons for breaking with the Church were personal and political. On a personal level, he wanted to end his first marriage, but the pope had denied him a divorce. On a political level, he no longer wanted to share power and wealth with the Church. In 1536, Henry closed down Catholic monasteries in England and took their riches.

William Tyndale (1494-1536)

William Tyndale was an English priest, scholar, and writer who traveled to Germany and met Martin Luther. As his views became increasingly Protestant, he attacked corruption in the Catholic Church and defended the English Reformation. After being arrested by Catholic authorities in the city of Antwerp, in present-day Belgium, he spent over a year in prison and was burned at the stake in 1536.

Tyndale is especially important to the Reformation because of his translations of the Bible. To spread knowledge of the Bible, he translated the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament into English. In the early 1600s, his work was used in the preparation of the King James, or Authorized, Version of the Bible. Famed for its beautiful language, the King James Bible had an enormous influence on English worship, language, and literature.

The Spread and Impact of the Reformation

What were the effects of the Reformation?

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn more about the movement called the Reformation and the Protestant churches that emerged in the 1500s. You will also explore the impact of the Reformation on the Catholic Church and on the history of Europe.

As Protestantism spread, it branched out in several directions. By the start of the 1600s, there were already many different Christian churches in Europe.

Each Protestant denomination had its own beliefs and practices. However, all Protestants had much in common, including a shared belief in the authority of the Bible, individual conscience, and the importance of faith. In addition, they were united in their desire to reform Christianity.

The growth of Protestantism also helped to encourage a reform movement within the Catholic Church called the Counter-Reformation. As part of this movement, Church leaders worked to correct abuses, clarify and defend Catholic teachings, and condemn what they saw as Protestant errors. Additionally, they tried to win back areas of Europe that had been lost to the Catholic Church.

The many divisions among Christians led to a series of wars and persecutions. People suffered because of their beliefs. Catholics fought Protestants, and Protestants fought one another. These struggles involved political, economic, and cultural differences, as well as deep religious beliefs.

The Reformation brought much conflict to Europe, but it also created many new forms of the Christian faith. Three new branches of Christianity that developed early in the period were Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anglicanism.

The Counter-Reformation

As Protestantism spread, the Catholic Church responded with a program of serious reform. It clarified its teachings, corrected abuses, and tried to win people back to Catholicism. This movement is known as the Counter-Reformation.

The Council of Trent

A major feature of the Counter-Reformation was the Council of Trent, a meeting of Catholic leaders that began in Trent, Italy, in 1545. Pope Paul III summoned the council to combat corruption in the Church and to fight Protestantism. The council continued its work in more than 20 sessions over the next 18 years

In response to Protestant ideas, the council gave a more precise statement of Catholic teachings. It rejected predestination, declaring that individuals do have a role to play in deciding the fate of their souls. The council agreed with Protestants that faith was important and that salvation was God's gift, but it rejected justification by faith alone. The council insisted that faith, good works, and the sacraments were all necessary for salvation. It reaffirmed the Catholic belief in seven sacraments.

The council acknowledged the importance of the Bible. It insisted, however, on the Church's authority to interpret the Bible and stated that the Latin Bible was the only official scripture.

The council also took action to make needed changes in the Church. It required better education and training of its clergy and called for priests and bishops to spend more time preaching. It corrected many of the abuses involving money and Church offices. Additionally, it established rules for services so that they would be more consistent from church to church.

The Council of Trent went a long way toward achieving the goals of Pope Paul III. The council's work brought a higher standard of morality to the Church's clergy and leadership, while its statements of Catholic belief and practices helped to unify the Church. The reformed Church was now better able to compete with Protestantism for the loyalties of Christians.

Catholic Reformers and Missionaries

The spirit of reform brought new life to the Catholic Church and its followers. Many individuals and groups helped to reform the Church and spread its message. For example, Teresa of Avila, a nun, started a new religious order in Spain and helped reform the lives of priests and nuns. Her example and writings inspired many Catholics to return to the values taught by Jesus.

Other new orders were formed to preach, to educate people, and to perform such services as feeding the poor. The most important of these orders was the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.

The Jesuits were founded by Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish nobleman. As a young soldier, Ignatius had his leg shattered by a cannonball. While he was recovering, he read about the lives of saints. He then vowed to become a “soldier for Jesus.”

After years of study, Ignatius started the order that became the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. The Jesuits were dedicated teachers and missionaries who founded schools and colleges. They brought many Europeans back to the Church and also worked to spread Catholicism in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They became the largest order in the Church and actively supported the pope.

Fighting the Spread of Protestantism

The Catholic Church also fought the spread of Protestantism by condemning beliefs that it considered to be errors and by dealing harshly with those it labeled as heretics. It looked to Catholic rulers to support its efforts and to win back lands lost to Protestantism.

To deal with heresies during the Middle Ages, the Church had established the Inquisition. This body was made up of clergy called inquisitors who sought out and tried heretics. Inquisitors could order various punishments, including fines and imprisonment, and they sometimes turned to civil rulers to put heretics to death.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella used the Spanish Inquisition to persecute Jews and Muslims. With the start of the Reformation, the Spanish Inquisition also fought the spread of Protestantism. In Rome, the pope established a new Inquisition. The Roman Inquisition similarly sought out and condemned people whose views were considered dangerous.

Effects of the Reformation

The Reformation brought lasting change to Europe. Through the influence of Europeans, it also affected other parts of the world.

Religious Wars and Persecution

The religious divisions of the Reformation led to a series of wars and persecutions during the 16th and 17th centuries. Catholics and Protestants alike persecuted members of other denominations, as well as each other.

Many people died for their beliefs. Others, like the French Protestants who moved to Switzerland, fled to Protestant countries.

Bloody civil wars erupted in many countries. In France, for example, wars between Catholics and Protestants between 1562 and 1598 left over a million dead.

The wars in France were not only about religion, but they were also about the power of the Catholic monarchy. Similarly, the last major war of the Reformation, which was fought in Germany, was both political and religious. The war, later called the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), pitted Catholics against Protestants, and Protestants against each other. However, it was also a struggle for power that involved most of the nations of Europe, which fought for their own interests, as well as for religious reasons. Catholic France, for example, sided with Protestants to combat the power of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Thirty Years' War ended in 1648 with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia, a treaty that called for peace between Protestants and Catholics. By deciding the control of territory, it set boundaries between Catholic and Protestant lands. Most of northern Europe, including much of Germany, was Protestant. Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France remained Catholic. So did Bohemia, Austria, and Hungary. This religious division survived for many centuries.

The Spread of Christianity

By the time of the Reformation, Europeans had embarked upon a great age of exploration. As they voyaged around the world, both Catholics and Protestants worked to spread their faith. By the 1700s, there were missionary societies in several European countries. Jesuit missionaries were particularly active in spreading Roman Catholicism in places such as India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Protestant missionaries worked in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, and Indonesia.

The religious divisions in Europe were repeated in areas controlled by Europeans around the world. This was especially true in the Americas. Most people in English colonies in North America were Protestant. Missionaries and settlers from France brought Catholicism to parts of Canada and the Mississippi Valley. The Spanish and Portuguese brought Catholicism to the American southwest, Mexico, and South America. These patterns of religious faith are evident today.