Transcript The Reformation - sheridanhistory / FrontPage

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
