King, W.E. and Lewinski, M. (2001). World History. Minnesota: American Guidance Service, Inc.: pgs
The Catholic Church was the dominant religious power during the Middle Ages The Pope was the head of the Catholic Church power often extended into government (controlled kings) interpretation of the bible thought of as the “proper” way to practice Christianity
Problems with the church began with an economic factor: In 1294, King Phillip IV of France tried to tax French clergy (officials) but were unsuccessful in enforcing the tax for nearly 70 years!
In the 1500’s, people challenged the religious authority of the church. These people were referred to as “reformers” because they felt the church needed to be reformed or changed Thus, “Reformation” is the movement during which people challenged and changed the Catholic religion in Europe
An Englishman, one of the first reformers Wycliffe believed: the church had too much wealth and power the bible, not the church, should be the authority for Christians To allow more people to read the Bible, Wycliffe help translate the Latin Bible into English
Huss was a scholar at the University of Prague Heavily influenced by John Wycliffe Huss and his followers publicly criticized the church The church arrested Huss and burned him at the stake.
German Monk who taught religion courses at a local university In the mid-1500’s, disagreed with the Catholic Church selling “indulgences” Indulgences were papers that stated people would not be punished for their sins
Published 95 “theses” or statements speaking out against indulgences Luther stated that indulgences were wrong because people could not buy forgiveness of their sins These statements were sent to other countries, lowering the number of indulgences sold Pope Leo X excommunicated or banned him from the Catholic Church
Martin Luther began his own church around 1521 (The Lutheran Church) Lutherans followed three basic principles: Only faith in Jesus Christ could save people from sin Religious truth came from the Bible (i.e. People should read the Bible and make decisions for themselves) Christians do not need the clergy or special religious people to tell them what the Bible meant Many German princes liked Luther’s idea and began to protest (challenge) the ways of the church. They became know as Protestants
In 1509, King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife but the Pope refused King Henry appointed a new archbishop, who approved the divorce…then proceeded to begin a new church (The Angelican Church) King Henry’s son, Edward, would later accept many of the Protestant reforms during the 1540’s.
Mary, Edward’s sister, made England Catholic Elizabeth I, Mary’s half-sister, tried to join the Catholic and Protestant; many rituals became a blend of Catholicism and Protestantism Some people in England were not happy with the compromise. These people were called Puritans. The Puritans would later leave England to settle in North America.
Fully organized the Protestant belief John Calvin believed: People are born sinful (or bad) Few people would be saved from sin God already chose those who would be saved, called the “elect” Much of John Calvin’s beliefs shape today’s Presbyterian Churches
Counter-Reformation: to go against reform The Catholic Church led the Counter- Reformation movement Censor or choose books by telling people which ones they could read Roman Inquisition - inquired into people’s beliefs and executed those who believed differently than the Catholic Church
Purposes of the Counter-Reformation To get rid of abuses within the church so that it would be a body worthy of people's respect Stop any more people from turning Protestant To bring Protestants back into the Roman Catholic Church
Religious wars between Catholics and Protestants continued between 1550 and Eventually, the persecution of Protestants (combined with England’s desire to colonize) led to the Protestants settling in the New World…the first Pilgrims or Puritans!