The Reformation


The Reformation

To understand the causes of the Reformation

To know the role played by Martin Luther and John Calvin in the Reformation

To understand the role of the Catholic Counter-Reformation

What was the Reformation?

The Reformation began in Germany as a protest against abuses in the Catholic Church.

It led to the establishment of the Protestant churches.

What was the causes of the Reformation?

Wealth of the Catholic Church: Princes and kings wanted the wealth of the Catholic Church to build up their countries

The Printing Press: Criticism of the Catholic Church was spread quickly through books and pamphlets.

The power of princes and kings : Rulers wanted to control their countries, including the power of the Catholic Church

Abuses: People critical of abuses in CC such as Nepotism – appointing relatives to church positions; simony- buying & selling church positions; pluralism-having more than one parish or diocese; absenteeism-being absent from your parish or diocese; bad organisation – many priests uneducated so they could not read Bible or preach

Where did the Reformation begin?

The Reformation started in Germany in the Early 16th century. Martin Luther criticised the Catholic Church.


The Reformation in England and Ireland

1.Henry VIII wanted to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon and to marry Anne Boleyn but CC would not allow him.

  He appointed Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury: He gave Henry a divorce and then Henry married Anne Boleyn.

2. Henry passed Act of Supremacy =made him Supreme Head of the Church of England. Oath of Supremacy had to be taken to recognise Henry as head of the Church. Those who did not take the Oath, including Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, were beheaded.


3. Henry closed the monasteries & confiscated their lands. He said they were badly run and that they were still loyal to the Pope.

4. Henry introduced the Bible in English but he wanted to keep Catholic services.

5. Protestantism was developed fully under Edward VI. The Book of Common Prayer, which included Protestant prayers was introduced.

6. Queen Mary restored Catholicism as the main religion of England, but she did not re-open the monasteries.

7. Queen Elizabeth established the Church of England (Anglican Church) with herself as Supreme Governor of the Church. She made the Church of England the official religion of England.

Results of the English Reformation

1.The king/queen became the head of the Church.

2.Parliament became more powerful because the Tudor rulers needed to pass laws through parliament.

3.England was united behind the Crown when Catholic Spain attacked with its Armada.

4.The Monasteries were closed.

Reformation in Ireland

The Tudors introduced the same religious change in Ireland as they did in England. But they failed to covert Ireland to Protestantism. Why?

Irish Catholics rejected Protestantism because they saw it as part of England’s plan to control the country.

Irish was the main language of the people, while the new religion was linked to the spread of the English language.

Irish Catholics resisted the closure of the monasteries.

The Catholic Counter-Reformation

The Catholic Counter-Reformation refers to the efforts of the Catholic Church to reform itself and to stop the spread of Protestantism.

The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent was a council of the cardinals and bishops to reform the Catholic Church.

Results of the Council of Trent

1.The Catholic religion became the most important Christian religion in Europe.

2.There were greater divisions between Catholics and Protestants in Europe.

Religious Orders: Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits

1.The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) was a religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola.

He wrote the Spiritual Exercises as a guide to train his followers.

He was an ex-soldier, so the Jesuits were organised like an army with a governor-general at their head and they followed strict discipline.


2.The work of the Jesuits

Jesuits spread the Catholic Religion through preaching & deeds of charity.

They founded schools & colleges to teach the sons of nobles & merchants – the future leaders.

They became missionaries to Ireland, India, Japan and other countries.

Their work maintained Catholicism in Ireland, Poland and Austria.




Who was Francis Xavier?

Francis Xavier was a famous Jesuit missionary who travelled to India and Japan.

The Court of Inquisition

1.The Inquisition was a court of the Catholic Church which tried people accused of heresy (beliefs contrary to the Catholic Church).

Mainly active in Spain & Italy

It used torture to get people to confess.

Accused people had to prove their innocence.

Punishments included: wearing a San Benito (a special garment), whipping or burning at the stake.


2.The result of the work of the Inquisition was the Protestantism was crushed in Spain and Italy.


What were the results of the Reformation?

1.Europe was divided between Catholics and Protestant countries.

Catholic= Spain, Italy, Ireland

Protestant= England, Scotland, Holland, Norway.

2. Wars of Religion

Civil wars in England, France and Germany

War between Spain and England in which Spain attacked with its Armada

Thirty Years War which involved Sweden, Denmark, states of Germany, Austria and other countries.


3. Intolerance and Persecution

Catholics and Protestants persecuted each other.

4. Art and architecture

Protestants churches followed a plain style.

Catholic churches were richly decorated.

5. Education

Protestant churches wanted everybody to be able read the Bible.



Review Questions


Review Questions

1. What was simony
2. What was pluralism?
3. What was nepotism?
4. Explain what Indulgences were.
5. Where was Martin Luther born?
6. Why did Luther become a monk?
7. Why was Luther so unhappy as a monk?
8. Why was John Tetzel so important?
9. What were the 95 theses?
10. Why did Luther’s ideas spread so rapidly?
11. What was the importance of the Diet of Worms?
12. Why was Frederick the Wise so important?
13. How did Germany become divided after 1526?
14. What was the peace of Augsburg?
15. What were the main religious beliefs of Luther?
16. How were Luther’s beliefs different from those of the Catholic Church?
17. Where was John Calvin born?
18. What was meant by predestination?
19. What new religion did Calvin found?
20. What were some of the rules people in Geneva had to follow?
21. What did the city of Geneva become known as?
22. Why was Pope Paul III so important?
23. What were the main decisions made at the council of Trent?
24. Who were the Jesuits?
25. What was the Inquisition?
26. Why did Galileo become a victim of the Inquisition?

Answers

1. Simony was the buying and selling of positions in the Catholic church.

2. Pluralism meant holding more than one church position at the same time.

3. Nepotism meant appointing your own relations to important church jobs regardless of whether or not the person was suitable.

4. If a person who was sorry for their sins paid money to the church they would spend less time in purgatory for their sins.

5. Born in Saxony in Germany.

6. He was caught in a huge thunderstorm and promised to become a monk if he survived.

7. Luther wanted to be saved – to get into heaven – but he always felt he was a sinner  and would never be saved.

8. John Tetzel was a priest who came to sell indulgences in order to raise money to rebuild St. Peter’s basilica in Rome.

9. This was a list of 95 reasons why Luther had questions about the whole idea of selling indulgences. He nailed this poster to the door of the main church. They were translated into German and then spread all over Germany.

10. The invention of the printing press meant that his ideas could be spread much faster all over the country.

11. At the Diet (special meeting) Luther appeared before the Emperor Charles V and he refused to give up any of his ideas and defended them. He was then declared a heretic which meant he could be arrested or even killed.

12. He was the ruler of the State of Saxony and he provided Luther with a safe place to stay and while he was there for a year he translated the bible into German.

13. There were wars between different States because of religion.

14. The peace of Augsburg meant that each Prince was free to decide what religion he and his people would follow. This brought peace to Germany.

15. That a good Christian could get into heaven by faith alone and not by going on pilgrimages or fasting etc. That people could find out about God for themselves by reading the bible.

16. There would only be 2 sacraments instead of 7. There would be ministers of religion who were allowed to marry. Religious services would be in the language of the people not in Latin

17. Noyen in northern France.

18. God had decided who would go to heaven, even before people were born.

19. Calvinism. In Scotland it became known as the Presbyterian church.

20. All dancing and gambling forbidden. Everyone had to wear dark clothes. Heavy drinking was considered the work of the devil.

21. The “City of God”

22. He was the first Pope to try to reform the Catholic church to get rid of the abuses which existed at the time. He called a special Council of Church leaders to meet in a place called Trent in Italy.

23. Simony, nepotism and pluralism were forbidden. Priests had to be trained in a seminary. Also stated that BOTH faith and good works are needed in order to save your soul.

24. They were a religious order of priests set up by Ignatius Loyola of Spain. Their task was to spread the Catholic religion and to set up schools
for the young and the poor. Today they have schools all over the world.

25. It was set up by the Catholic church and in Spain it became notorious for it’s persecution of Protestants. Torture was used and many were killed, imprisoned or sent into exile.

26. He was taken before an inquisition because he put forward the theory that the earth revolved around the sun which the Catholic church refused to accept.

P      Pluralism

A     Absenteeism

I       Indulgences

N     Nepotism

S      Simony