Chapter 19.3 Notes

 $\cdot$  By the late Renaissance some people complained about the problems with the Catholic Church 
  -The people called on the leaders of the church to end corruption and focus on religion 
   *Their calls led to the Reformation 
Reformation: a reform movement against the Roman Catholic Church that began in 1517; it resulted in the creation of Protestant churches
 $\cdot$  Unpopular Church practices
  -Those who called for reform had many complaints against the church 

   *Others thought the pope was too involved in politics and neglecting his religious responsibilities 
 -Another issue had to do with the wealth of the church
   *The Roman Catholic Church became one of the richest institutions in Europe because it didn’t have to pay taxes
 $\cdot$  People objected to the way the Church made money
  -On method was the sale of indulgences 
   *An indulgence was a document given by the pope to excuse a person from penalties for the sin 

  -In Catholic teachings, purgatory was a place where souls went to make up for their sins before going to heaven
   *Many Chrisians thought that by selling indulgences, the church was letting people buy their way into heaven
 $\cdot$  By the early 1500s, scholars in northern Europe were calling for Church reforms 
  -On October 31, 1517, a priest named Martin Luther added his voice to the call for reform
   *Luther nailed a list of complaints about the church to the door of a church in Wittenberg in German state of Saxony
   *Luther’s list is called the Ninety-Five Theses

   *Luther’s complaints angered many Catholics including Pope Leo X
   *Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Empire and the Church 
 $\cdot$  Luther’s ideas are going to lead to the split in the church
  -The branch that was formed were called Protestants
Protestants: a Chrisitan who protested against the Catholic Church 

  -Protestants believed they did not need a priest to talk to God for them 
   *This idea is called the priesthood of all believers 
   *These beliefs challenged the traditional structure and power of the church 
  -Luther encouraged people to live as the Bible said not how priests or the pope instructed 
   *To make this easier for the people, Luther translated the Bible’s New Testament into German so the common person could read the word of God
   *Translating the Bible was only Luther’s first step towards getting the common person involved in religion
   *People that followed Luther and his beliefs became known as Lutherans and the Lutheran Church was born

  -William Tyndale, an English professor, thought that people should be able to read and interrupt the Bible 
   *Tyndale translated the Bible into English and Catholic authorities had him executed 
  -John Calvin was an influential reformer
   *Calvin’s main teaching was predestination (the idea that God knew who would be saved even before they were born)
   *Calvin believed that it did not matter what a person did in their lives but that their fate was already decided but people were still expected to follow God’s laws
   *In 1541, Geneva, Switzerland made Calvin their religious and political leader

  -Henry VIII wanted a divorce so he asked the Pope and the Pope refused so Henry VIII refused to listen to the Pope
   *In 1534, Henry declared himself as the head of a new church and called it the Church of England or Anglican Church 
  -Henry broke from the church for personal reasons not religious ones
   *So the practices and and traditions did not change from the Catholic Church

 $\cdot$   As Protestantism spread in the 1500s and 1600s, the Catholic leaders responded 
  -The Catholic branch of Christianity had a reform of its own and it was considered to be the Counter-Reformation 
Catholic Reformation: the effort of the late 1500s and 1600s to reform the Catholic Church from within; also called the Counter-Reformation
 $\cdot$  Catholic culture in Spain
  -Before the Catholic Reformation, Spanish leaders were trying to find ways to drive non-Catholics out of Spain

   *Spanish leaders ordered the Spanish Inquisition to punish any converts who were still practicing their old beliefs
 $\cdot$  In other parts of Europe, Catholic leaders were responding to the criticisms of the Protestants
  -Catholic reformers created new religious order or communities 
   *The first of the new orders were founded in 1534 by a Spanish noble 
   *This new order was call the Society of Jesuits or the Jesuits 

  -Their leader, Ignatius, fought as a knight and the Jesuits were trained to as disciplined as soldiers in their religious duties
   *By teaching people about Catholic ideas, the Jesuits hope to turn people against Protestantism
 $\cdot$  Many Catholic leaders felt more change was needed and created the Council of Trent
  -Clergy from across Europe came to debate, discuss and reform catholic teachings

  -Some Catholic Reformation leaders wanted to punish Protestants as heretics
   *The Pope created religious courts to punish Protestants in Italy 
 $\cdot$  Catholic Missionaries dedicated their lives to helping the church grow
  -Missionaries began traveling to foreign countries to spread the Catholic faith 
   *The activity increased the Catholic Reformation and Catholic teachings spread around the world

   *A famous Jesuit priest named Francis Xavier was responsible for taking Catholicism to parts of India and Japan in the mid-1500s

 $\cdot$  The Reformation created a division within Europe
  -In Spain most people were Catholic and in the northern countries people were Protestant
   *The Holy Roman Empire was a patchwork of small kingdoms with some Catholics and some protestants
 $\cdot$  Religious Wars
  -Although most of France was still Catholic, French Protestants called Huguenots created tension in the country
   *The King of France was Catholic so he banded all Protestant religions 
   *Violence broke out in 1562

   *The conflict ended in 1598

   *In the same year, King Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes
  -his law granted religious freedom in most of France
 $\cdot$  Religious wars caused even more destruction in the Holy Roman Empire 
  -There, the King of Bohemia sparked a conflict when the King forced all his subjects to convert to Catholicism 
   *In 1618, Protestants rose up in revolt and it spread through the Holy Roman Empire 
   *This revolt started the Thirty Years’ War

   *The French King agreed to help the Protestants because he did not like the Holy Roman Emperor 
   *After 30 years of fighting, European leaders came to a peace agreement in 1648
   *This treaty also created Germany as an independent state
 $\cdot$  The Reformation led not only political changes but to social changes too 
  -Before the Reformation, European had no voice in governing the Catholic Church 
   *They simply followed the teachings of priests and bishops

   *Instead, each congregation (community of worshippers) made their own rules and elected its own leaders 
  -Once people had control of their churches they started to seek political power in the government.
   *In the American colonies, congregations met to decide how to run their towns 
   *These meetings gave the people a chance to run their own governments this process is known as federalism
Federalism: the sharing of power between local governments and a strong central government