Trouble for the Catholic Church

The Reformation  The Reformation is a period during the Renaissance that refers to changes in the Catholic Church. Thanks to the invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenburg, people were able to read the Bible and make religious decisions for themselves. This led to more disagreements with how the church was run.

The Great Schism  The power of national states like France weakened the power of the church – a French king – Philip IV helped Clement V get elected pope.  Pope Clement V moved the center of the church from Rome, Italy to Avignon, France. This internal conflict caused a weakening of the church from the inside.

Schism Continued  The church developed two centers of Power, Avignon and Rome, and even elected two popes who demanded different things from Catholics.  This led to confusion and doubt further weakening the church.

Criticism of the Church  Over the centuries, the church had become very big and powerful. They needed a lot of money to run the land they controlled. Many critics and reformers were angered by how the church earned and spent its money. Especially the sale of indulgences.

Indulgence  An indulgence was a forgiveness of sin on earth that was sold to people for money.  Reformers were outraged that the church appeared to be allowing people to believe they could “buy” their way into heaven. They often used this money to support the arts. Reformers wanted the church to focus on spiritual, not material values.

Important Reformers  Many reformers spoke out against church practices. In England, a philosopher and priest named John Wycliffe questioned the pope’s right to levy taxes and appoint church officials without the king’s approval. He spoke about immoral behavior in the church and had the Bible translated into English

Erasmus  Dutch priest and humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus criticized the church for abuses and corruption, and forgetting Christian values in his book The Praise of Folly, but he also criticized reformers for trying to divide the church, so he wasn’t really trusted by either side.

Martin Luther  Inspired by Erasmus and other humanist thinkers, Martin Luther wanted to improve the church and is considered to be the man who started the Reformation with a document called the ninety-five theses.

Luther continued  Luther was born in Germany in 1483, was going to be a lawyer, but vowed to become a monk after he was almost struck by lightning. He believed people could only be saved if they had faith in Jesus Christ. So, he questioned that salvation could be won through good deeds/works.

Ninety – five theses  The ninety-five theses was a document posted by Luther on the door of the Castle Church. It is considered the beginning of the Reformation. The document criticized the church for selling indulgences, spoke on the powers of the church, and talked about penance.

Importance  Eventually, many people supported Luther and some people were against him. The ones who supported him signed a protest against the church. This group began to be called:  Protestants.  Ideas that came from the Reformation:  The Bible is the only source of religious truth – people don’t need priests to interpret the Bible.  Salvation can only be gained through faith in Christ.

Why it matters  The Great Schism weakened the church  Between the 1400’s and 1600’s many people were bothered by how the church earned and spent money  Martin Luther became the leader of a revolutionary attack on the Roman Catholic Church  Competition between Protestants and Catholics led to expansion of the Christian religion throughout the world