I. Germany and the Protestant Reformation
A. The Holy Roman Empire in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
1. The Golden Bull of 1356 gave each of the seven electors virtual sovereignty.
2. Localism and chronic disorder allowed the nobility to strengthen their territories and reduced the authority of the emperor.
B. The rise of the Habsburg dynasty
1. The Habsburgs gave unity to much of Europe, especially with the marriage of Maximilian I of Austria and Mary of Burgundy in 1477.
2. Charles V, their grandson, inherited much of Europe and was committed to the idea of its religious and political unity.
II. The Condition of the Church (ca 1400-1517)
A. The declining prestige of the church
1. The Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism damaged the church's prestige.
2. Secular humanists satirized and denounced moral corruption within the church.
B. Signs of disorder in the early sixteenth century
1. Clerical immorality (neglect of celibacy, drunkenness, gambling) created a scandal among the faithful.
a. The lack of education of the clergy and low standards of ordination were condemned by Christian humanists.
b. The absenteeism, pluralism (holding of several benefices, or offices), and wealth of the greater clergy bore little resemblance to Christian gospel.
2. The prelates and popes of the period, often members of the nobility, lived in splendor and moral corruption.
C. Signs of vitality in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries
1. Sixteenth~century Europe remained deeply religious, and calls for reform testify to the spiritual vitality of the church.
2. New organizations were formed to educate and minister to the poor.
a. The Brethren of the Common Life in Holland lived simply and sought to make religion a personal, inner experience based on following the Scriptures.
b. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis urged Christians to seek perfection in a simple way of life.
c. The Oratories of Divine Love in Italy were groups of priests who worked to revive the church through prayer and preaching.
3. Pope Julius II summoned an ecumenical council on reform in the church called the Lateran Council (1512-1527).
III. Martin Luther and the birth of Protestantism
A. Luther's early years
1. Luther was a German monk and professor of religion whose search for salvation led him to the letters of St. Paul.
2. He concluded that faith was central to Christianity and the only means of salvation.
B. Luther's Ninety-five Theses (October 1517)
1. Luther's Opposition to the sale of indulgences (remissions of penalties for sin) prompted his fight with Rome.
a. Luther rejected the idea that salvation could be achieved by good works, such as indulgences.
b. He also criticized papal wealth.
2. At Leipzig in 1519 Luther denied the authority of the pope and was excommunicated and declared an outlaw by Charles V at Worms in 1521.
C. Protestant thought
1. "Protestant" at first meant Lutheran, but it later became a general term applied to all non-Catholic Christians; it means a modification of Catholicism.
2. Luther provided new answers to four basic theological issues.
a. He believed that salvation was achieved through faith alone, not faith and good works.
b. He stated that religious authority rests with the Bible, not the pope.
c. He believed that the church consists of the entire community of Christian believers.
d. And he believed that all work is sacred and everyone should serve God in his or her individual vocation.
3. Protestantism, therefore, was a reformulation of Christian beliefs and practices.
IV. The social impact of Luther's beliefs
A. By 1521 Luther's religious ideas had a vast following among all social classes.
1. Luther's ideas were popular because of widespread resentment of clerical privileges and wealth.
2. Luther's ideas attracted many preachers, and they became Protestant leaders.
3. Peasants cited Luther's theology as part of their demands for economic reforms.
a. Luther did not support the peasant revolts; he believed in obedience to civil authority.
b. Widespread peasant revolts in 1525 were brutally crushed, but some land was returned to common use.
4. Luther's greatest weapon was his mastery of the language, and his words were spread by the advent of printing.
a. Zwingli and Calvin were greatly influenced by his writings.
b. The publication of Luther's German translation of the New Testament in 1523 democratized religion.
5. Luther believed that marriage was a woman's career, and he stressed the idea of marriage.
B. The political impact of Luther's beliefs
1. The Protestant Reformation stirred nationalistic feelings in Germany against the wealthy Italian papacy.
2. Luther's appeal to patriotism earned him the support of the princes, who used religion as a means of gaining more political independence and preventing the flow of German money to Rome.
3. The Protestant movement proved to be a political disaster for Germany.
a. The dynastic Habsburg-Valois wars advanced the cause of Protestantism and promoted the political fragmentation of Germany.
b. By the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, Charles recognized Lutheranism as a legal religion, and each prince was permitted to determine the religion of his territory.
V. The growth of the Protestant Reformation
A. Calvinism
1. Calvin believed that God selects certain people to do his work and that he was selected to reform the church.
2. Under Calvin, Geneva became a theocracy, in which the state was subordinate to the church.
3. Calvin's central ideas, expressed in The Institutes of Christian Religion, were his belief in the omnipotence of God, the insignificance of humanity, and predestination.
a. These ideas were expressed in the Genevan Catechism.
4. Austere living and intolerance of dissenters characterized Calvin's Geneva.
a. The Genevan Consistory monitored the private morals of citizens.
b. Michael Servetus was burned at the stake for denying the Christian dogma of the Trinity and rejecting child baptism.
5. The city of Geneva was the model for international Protestantism, and Calvinism, with its emphasis on the work ethic, became the most dynamic and influential form of Protestantism.
B. The Anabaptists
1. This Protestant sect believed in adult baptism, literal interpretation of the Bible, religious tolerance, pacifism, and the separation of church and state.
a. They allowed women to be priests.
b. They shared property and appealed to the poor.
2. Their beliefs and practices were too radical for the times, and they were bitterly persecuted.
C. The English Reformation
1. The Lollards, although driven underground in the fifteenth century, survived and stressed the idea of a direct relationship between the individual and God.
2. The English humanist William Tyndale began printing an English translation of the New Testament in 1525.
3. The wealth and corruption of the clergy, as exemplified by Thomas Wolsey, stirred much resentment.
4. Henry VIII desired a divorce from his queen, Catherine, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, so he could marry Anne Boleyn.
5. Pope Clement VII (who did not wish to admit papal error) refused to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine.
6. Archbishop Cranmer, however, engineered the divorce.
7. The result was the nationalization of the English church and a break with Rome as Henry used Parliament to legalize the Reformation.
a. Henry needed money so he dissolved the monasteries and confiscated their lands, but this did not lead to more equal land distribution.
b. Some traditional Catholic practices, such as confession and the doctrine of transubstantiation, were maintained.
c. Nationalization of the church led to changes in governmental administration, resulting in greater efficiency and economy.
8. Under Edward VI, Henry's heir, England shifted closer to Protestantism.
9. Mary Tudor attempted to bring Catholicism back to England.
10. Under Elizabeth I a religious settlement requiring outward conformity to the Church of England was made.
VI. The Catholic Reformation and the Counter-Reformation
A. There were two types of reform within the Catholic church in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
1. The Catholic Reformation sought to stimulate a new religious fervor.
2. The Counter-Reformation started in the 1540s as a reaction to Protestantism and progressed simultaneously with the Catholic Reformation.
B. The slowness of institutional reform
1. Too often the popes were preoccupied with politics or sensual pleasures.
2. Popes resisted calls for the formation of a general council because it would limit their authority.
C. The Council of Trent
1. Pope Paul III called the Council of Trent (1 54~1563).
a. An attempt to reconcile with the Protestants failed.
b. International politics hindered the theological debates.
2. Nonetheless, the principle of papal authority was maintained, considerable reform was undertaken, and the spiritual renewal of the church was begun.
a. Tridentine decrees forbade the sale of indulgences and outlawed pluralism and simony.
b. Attempts were made to curb clerical immorality and to encourage education.
c. Great emphasis was placed on preaching.
D. New religious orders
1. The Ursuline order of nuns gained enormous prestige for the education of women.
a. The Ursulines sought to re-Christianize society by training future wives and mothers.
b. The Ursulines spread to France and North America.
2. The Society of Jesus played a strong international role in resisting Protestantism.
a. Obedience was the foundation of the Jesuit tradition.
b. With their schools, political influence, and missionary work, they brought many people into the Catholic fold.
E. The Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office
1. This group, established by Pope Paul III in 1542, carried out the Roman Inquisition as a way to combat heresy.
2. It had the power to arrest, imprison, and execute, but its influence was confined to papal territories.