THE REFORMATION

THINK

What does the word REFORM mean? What might have needed to be

reformed in 1517?

Background

The Roman Catholic Church controlled daily life in the Middle Ages.

Heavy taxes were collected not just by the lord of the manor but by church personnel.

The Renaissance fueled the building of huge and elaborate church structures like St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and like Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel.

These masterpieces required MONEY $$$$$

One of the main ways that the church collected money was to sell indulgences.

An indulgence is a document which grants forgiveness for sins committed, resulting in people having to pay the local priest to forgive their sins.

That money was spent on the local church or was sent to Rome or other cities to build new and magnificent cathedrals.

Many Christians found this practice of selling indulgences unfair, as well as other practices by the Church (like appointing family members of the kings and princes as bishops and popes).

Martin Luther

One person, a monk named Martin Luther, protested against corruption and injustices in the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1517, he wrote ninety-five “theses,” or complaints, about the Roman Catholic Church and posted them on the door of his local church in Wittenberg, Germany.

What new invention do you think helped Luther get his message out??

Because of the printing press, his complaints were quickly copied and spread throughout Germany.

What effect do you think this may have had on the people in his city?

What do you think the pope did to Martin Luther?

Church officials reacted by excommunicating, or expelling, Luther from the Church.

People who agreed with Luther and followed his teaching became known as Lutherans.

Soon there were other groups of Christians who no longer wished to be a part of the Roman Catholic Church.

These events were called the Reformation because these people wanted to reform, or change, Church beliefs and practices.

This began a movement called Protestantism, since its supporters had protested against the Church.

Church Response

The Catholic Church responded by calling the Council of Trent in 1545. These efforts were called the Counter-Reformation because they were against the Reformation.

Roman Catholics still accepted that only the Church could explain the Bible.

They also insisted that the pope was the highest authority in the Church.

However, the council did begin some reforms, including a ban on the sale of indulgences.

Split

Remember that Christianity split into an eastern church and a western church in 1054.

Now the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation split western Christianity once again: into Catholics and Protestants.

THINK

What practices of the Roman Catholic Church led to the Reformation?

What were the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation?

WRITE

On a sheet of loose-leaf paper, write your own Ninety-five Thesis. Make a list of complaints you have about the one thing you hate the most. Try to come up with 10-15 theses.

Title your thesis “(Your Name)’s Ninety-Five Thesis (For example, Michelle’s Ninety-Five Thesis)

Turn in at the end of the hour.