1. The Reformation By the 10 th century, the church in Rome had come to dominate religious life in northern & western Europe However, the Roman Catholic Church had not won universal approval Over the centuries, rulers, scholars, & members of the clergy (church personnel) criticized church practices Even though church leaders made several important reforms during the Middle Ages… The problems lingered

2. Renaissance Influence on Religion By 1500, additional forces weakened the Church The Renaissance emphasized the secular (non-religious/ worldly) values It also stressed the power of the individual The printing press spread these secular ideas In addition, rulers resented the popes’ attempts to control them Pope = Head of Catholic Church Northern merchants resented paying church taxes to Rome Rome = Headquarters of Church Spurred by political & social forces, a new movement for religious reform (change) began in Germany It then swept through the rest of Europe

3. Corruption in Catholic Church Critics of the Church said leaders were corrupt The popes who ruled during the Renaissance patronized the arts, spent extravagantly on personal pleasure & fought wars Pope Alexander VI even admitted to having children (not allowed for clergy) These popes were too busy pursuing worldly affairs to have much time for spiritual duties The lower level clergy had problems as well Many priests & monks were poorly educated They could barely read, thus couldn’t teach Others broke their priestly vows by marrying, gambling, & drinking to excess

4. Renaissance Creates Atmosphere for Change Influenced by reformers, people had come to expect high standards of conduct for church leaders Renaissance writers like Erasmus & More wrote about popes having too much power Renaissance thinkers argued that the Bible was more important than church leadership Although some reformers died for their beliefs, their calls for change lived on In addition, many Europeans were reading religious works for themselves They formed their own opinions about the Church The atmosphere in Europe was ripe for reform by the early 1500s Reform = Change

5. Indulgences The son of a German miner, Martin Luther became a monk in 1505 All he wanted was to be a good Christian, not lead a religious revolution In 1517 Luther decided to take a public stand against the actions of a friar named Johann Tetzel Tetzel was raising money to rebuild St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome He did this by selling indulgences Indulgence = Pardon It released a sinner from penalty Indulgences weren’t supposed to affect God’s right to judge However, Tetzel gave people the impression that buying indulgences could buy their way into heaven

6. Martin Luther Leads Change Luther was troubled by Tetzel’s tactics He wrote 95 Theses attacking the “pardon merchants” Theses = formal statements On October 31, 1517 he posted his theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany Someone copied Luther’s works & took them to the printer Luther’s name became known throughout Germany His actions started the REFORMATION Reformation = movement for religious reform It led to the founding of Christian churches that did NOT accept the pope’s authority

7. Luther’s Teachings Soon Luther went beyond criticizing indulgences He wanted a full reform of the Catholic Church His teachings rested on three main ideas: 1. People could win salvation (heaven) only through faith in God’s forgiveness –The Catholic Church taught that faith & GOOD WORKS were needed for salvation 2. All Church teachings should be based on word in the Bible –The pope & church traditions weren’t religious authorities (God & Bible were) 3. All people with faith were equal –Therefore, people didn’t need to priests to interpret the Bible for them

8. Church’s Reaction Luther was surprised at how rapidly his ideas spread & attracted followers Many rulers & merchants were unhappy with the Church for economic & political reasons They saw Luther’s protests as an excuse to get rid of Church control Initially, the Church viewed Luther as a simple rebellious monk who needed punishment However, as Luther’s ideas became increasingly radical, The pope realized he was a serious threat In one angry reply, Luther actually suggested that Christians drive the pope from the Church by force

9. Luther’s Excommunication In 1520, Pope Leo X issued a decree threatening Luther with excommunication unless he took back his statements Excommunicate = kicking a person out of the Church, thus denying him/her salvation Luther burned the pope’s decree @ a bonfire Pope Leo excommunicated Luther Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (huge empire, including Germany), disagreed with Luther He summoned Luther to Worms in 1521 to stand trial. Told to recant (take back) his statements, Luther refused Charles issued the Edict of Worms declaring Luther an outlaw & heretic No one was allowed to give Luther food or shelter & all of his books were to be burned

10. New Religious Group Emerges Prince Frederick the Wise refused to obey the order & let Luther live in his castle While there, Luther translated the New Testament into German When Luther returned to Wittenberg in 1522 he saw many of his ideas in practice Priests dressed in ordinary clothing & called themselves ministers They led services in German instead of Latin Some ministers had married, because Luther taught that Clergy were allowed Instead of continuing to seek reforms from the Catholic Church… Luther’s followers became a separate religious group, called Lutherans

11. Peasants Revolt Some began to apply Luther’s ideas to society In 1524, German peasants demanded an end to serfdom Serf = peasant attached to the land owned by a lord & required to perform labor in return for rights Bands of angry peasants went around raiding monasteries, pillaging & burning The revolt horrified Luther He wrote a pamphlet telling German princes to show peasants no mercy (thousands were killed) Many peasants felt betrayed, but Luther remained influential until his death

12. Protestants In contrast to bitter peasants, many northern German princes supported Lutheranism Some princes supported Luther’s beliefs, others just saw it as a good excuse to seize Church property & assert independence from Charles V In 1529, those princes who still supported the pope agreed to join forces Princes supporting Luther signed a protest against the agreement & became known as Protestants Eventually term Protestant applied to Christians who belonged to non-Catholic churches Charles V launched a war against Protestants, but couldn’t force them back to the Church Peace of Augsburg = famous religious agreement in Augsburg that said the religion of each state would be determined by its ruler