Catholicism vs. Protestantism

a movement in which the Church attempts to make changes to correct its own corruption and abuses, and tried to win people back

a meeting of Catholic leaders to talk about how to eliminate corruption from the Church and stop the spread of Protestantism

began in 1545 and continued to work over the next 18 years

Rejected predestination, stated that people do have to a say in deciding the fate of their souls

Agreed with Protestants that faith was important and that salvation was a gift from God, but disagreed that faith alone could provide salvation

Insisted that faith, good works, and the sacraments were needed for salvation; maintained all seven sacraments

Required better education and training of its clergy; priests and bishops to spend more time preaching

Corrected many of the abuses involving money and Church positions

Created rules for services to be consistent from church to church

Overall, the Council of Trent set a higher standard for the clergy and Church leadership, and helped to unify the Church

Many Catholics wanted to help reform the Church and spread its message

New religious orders were formed to preach, educate people, and perform services, such as feeding the poor

The Society of Jesus, know as Jesuits, was an order founded by Ignatius of Loyola of dedicated teachers and missionaries who founded schools and colleges; helped bring Europeans back to the Church and worked to spread Catholicism in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Condemned beliefs that went against Catholic beliefs; published a list of books that were forbidden

people who disagreed with the Church were labeled "heretics" and were dealt with harshly and even put to death

the Church created The Inquisition, which was a Church court created to try and punish heretics.

The Inquisition was used by the Church to persecute and even execute those who disagreed with the Church

In Spain, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella used the Spanish Inquisition to persecute Jews and Muslims.

Religious divisions of the Reformation led to wars and persecution in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Catholics and Protestants persecuted each other, as well as members of other denominations

Many people died; many fled their homes for countries that were accepting of their beliefs; over one million people dead between 1562 and 1598

Wars were about religious beliefs, but also about political power; this led to creation of boundaries that divided Catholic and Protestant lands - northern Europe and Germany were Protestant, while most of the rest of Europe remained Catholic

More and more people began to identify with their nation rather than with their local area, which led to growing feelings of nationalism

Monarchies became more powerful as there was a revival of the old idea of the "divine right of kings"

Democratic ideas; people looked toward more religious freedom and a right to act on your beliefs; Protestant churches allowed their members to choose their leaders

By the 1700s Europeans were exploring the world, bringing their religious ideas with them; for example, most English explorers were Protestant which led to Protestant English colonies in the Americas; Spanish explorers brought Catholicism to Central and South America