The ReformationLesson 3

Urbanization & the Rise of a Middle Class

• During the Middle Ages, there was little trade and almost no industry

• Slowly, over centuries, all this changed

• The main reason – the economy in Europe slowly improved

Urbanization & the Rise of a Middle Class

• Trade began in increase

• Largely the result of the contacts Europeans made with the outside world• Trade routes developed between Europe and

Asia

• As trade increases, towns increase – no need for people to live on farms

Urbanization & the Rise of a Middle Class

• The growth of towns and cities is called urbanization

• People who lived in towns tended to be more sophisticated, educated, and wealthier

• During the Middle Ages there were only 2 main economic classes in Europe: the very rich nobles and very poor peasants

Urbanization & the Rise of a Middle Class

• With the rise of trade and towns, a new class emerged• The Middle Class

• Middle class was mostly traders and merchants

• As the size of the middle class grew, so did their influence on European life

Check for Understanding

What is urbanization?

A. The movement of people from cities to the suburbs

B. The desire to live on farms

C. The growth of cities and towns

D. The growth of farms

Check for Understanding

What is the middle class?

A. An economic class of people that is wealthier than the poor but not as wealthy as the rich

B. The largest class of people in any society

C. The most powerful classes of people in any society

D. A class of people bound to nobles as part of the feudal system

The Roman Catholic Church

• The church was a central part of most people’s lives

• Headquartered in Rome

• Headed by the Pope• Archbishops answered to the pope• Bishops answered to the archbishops• Local priests answered to the bishops

• In this way, the authority of the Church filtered down to nearly everyone in Europe

The Roman Catholic Church

• The Church was extremely wealthy • Became the largest landholder during the

Middle Ages

• The Church officials could excommunicate people, or cut them off entirely from the church

Check for Understanding

What was the most powerful religious and social force during the Middle Ages?

A. The Church

B. The Roman Catholic Church

C. Both a and b, since the refer to the same thing

D. The Medici family

Check for Understanding

What is excommunication?

A. The act of challenging the authority of the Roman Catholic Church

B. The act of entering the Roman Catholic Church

C. A religious upheaval

D. The act of cutting someone off from the Roman Catholic Church

The Reformation

• A great challenge to the Roman Catholic Church

• Took place during the 1500s

• Main cause for the Reformation was due to the abuse of power• The abuse of power took many forms

The Reformation

• One abuse had to do with the way the Church obtained money

• The Church and its many officials needed money to function

• To get it, the Church sometimes sold positions with the Church• Many poor people resented this

The Reformation

• Church officials abused their positions to personally benefit from the wealth of the Church

• Many church officials lived like kings• Huge, lavish (fancy) homes

The Reformation

• The Church also engaged in the sale of indulgences

• Indulgences were pardons from sin

• Under this practice, people could be pardoned for their sins by giving money to the Church

The Reformation

• People felt the Church neglected spiritual leadership in favor of worldly wealth and power

• As people became educated, they began to question the Church’s interpretation of the Bible

• The middle class no longer needed the protection of feudal and manor lords, who were often bishops of the Church

The Reformation

• All the factors combined to create a great revolution against the Church

• The greatest leader of the revolution, or Reformation, was Martin Luther

Check for Understanding

TRUE or FALSE

_____As people became more educated, they flocked to join the Church

_____The sale of indulgences contributed to people’s dissatisfaction with the Church

_____Most Church leaders were poor and humble

_____The Reformation affected the Roman Catholic Church

Martin Luther (1483 – 1546)

• Leader of the Reformation, Catholic monk

• In 1512, earned his Doctorate of Theology at the University of Wittenberg• He became a member of the faculty there

• Was appalled by the sale of indulgences • Shocked by the wealth, worldliness, and

corruption of the Church leaders

Martin Luther

• In protest he nailed a document to the door of the church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517

• This document was Luther’s Ninety-five Theses, or ninety-five statements

Martin Luther95 Theses

• He denounced the corruption of the Church, especially the sale of indulgences

• The 95 Theses were printed and widely distributed• Remember the Gutenberg printing press was

developed 50 years earlier

Martin Luther

• Spoke out even stronger against the Church

• Denied the authority of the Church and the pope completely

• He said people did not need the church at attain salvation• They had a direct line with God• Only needed their Bibles, their minds, and their souls

Martin Luther

• Had the support of many people including some powerful nobles

• One of his most important works was a new translation of the Bible• He translated it into German, instead of Latin

Check for Understanding

What were the Ninety-five Theses about?

A. Luther’s belief that there was no God

B. Luther’s protest of corruption and the sale of indulgences

C. Luther’s respect for the Roman Catholic Church

D. All of the above

Protestantism

• People who broke from the Roman Catholic Church came to be called Protestants because the had protested against the Church

• Protestantism took hold in northern Europe

• Catholicism remained strong in southern Europe

Protestantism

• Protestants of northern Europe formed many different denominations• Each was organized differently and had some

differences in beliefs

• All believed very differently from the Church• They didn’t need the Roman Catholic Church

to receive God’s grace

John Calvin (1509 – 1564)

• Lived in Switzerland, was a priest

• Thought that God decided the fate of every person

• He directed efforts that would lead to the firm establishment of Protestantism in Switzerland, France, and other countries throughout northern and western Europe

Protestantism

• In England, Queen Elizabeth I created an official form of Protestantism called, Anglicanism in 1563

• It was a moderate form of Protestantism• Many people in England did not support this

• They preferred the Congregational system of John Calvin• These people became known as Puritans

Protestantism

• Puritans followed a more “pure” version of Protestantism

• Within a century, the Puritans, fleeing religious persecution, would come to America

Check for Understanding

What were the people who broke from the Roman Catholic Church?

A. Disciples

B. Protestants

C. Peasants

D. nobles

Check for Understanding

Who directed efforts that would spread Protestantism ideas?

A. Martin Luther

B. The Roman Catholic Church

C. John Calvin

D. Galileo Galilei

Results of the Reformation

• Before the Reformation, there was only the Roman Catholic Church• After, Europe was divided

• Protestant ethic, or way of life – stresses the importance of home and family and the role of the individual in community life• Hard work and thrift are celebrated

• The most important result of the Reformation was simply the establishment of Protestantism

Check for Understanding

TRUE of FALSE

_____After the Reformation, there was only one major church in Europe

_____The Reformation marked the end of Catholicism

_____The Roman Catholic Church remained strongest in southern Europe

_____The Protestant ethic stresses hard work and thrift