Reformation Ideas Spread 10: The Renaissance and Reformation

How did Henry VIII's actions lead to conflict within England?

Many devout Catholics refused to accept Henry as the head of the Church of England. These Catholics resisted the Anglican Church, and in turn, the Anglican Church persecuted them. Later, when the Catholic Mary Tudor ruled, she persecuted Protestants.

Persecution of Jews

The Reformation brought hard times to Europe's Jews. For many Jews in Italy, the early Renaissance had been a time of relative prosperity. Unlike Spain, which had expelled its Jews in 1492, Italy allowed them to remain. Some Jews followed the traditional trades they had been restricted to in medieval times. They were goldsmiths, artists, traders, and moneylenders. Others expanded into law, government, and business. A few well-educated Jews served as advisers to powerful rulers. Yet the pressure remained strong on Jews to convert. By 1516, Jews in Venice had to live in a separate quarter of the city called the ghetto. Other Italian cities set up walled ghettos in which Jews were forced to live. At first, Luther hoped that Jews would be converted to his teachings. When they did not convert, he called for them to be expelled from Christian lands and for their synagogues to be burned. During the Reformation, restrictions on Jews increased. Some German princes expelled Jews from their lands. All German states confined Jews to ghettos or required them to wear a yellow badge if they traveled outside the ghetto. In the 1550s, Pope Paul IV reversed the lenient policy of Renaissance popes and restricted Jewish activities. After 1550, many Jews migrated to Poland-Lithuania and to parts of the Ottoman Empire. Dutch Calvinists also tolerated Jews, taking in families who were driven out of Portugal and Spain.

What were the basic components of the Catholic Reformation? Use evidence from the text to support your statements.

reform of Church practices to end the corruption of the papacy and clergy; new schools to create a better-educated clergy; strengthening of the Inquisition to root out heresy; founding of new religious orders to spread the Catholic faith

Radical Reformers

A number of groups, for example, rejected the practice of infant baptism. Infants, they argued, are too young to understand what it means to accept the Christian faith. Only adults, they felt, should receive the sacrament of baptism. Because of this belief, they became known as Anabaptists. Most Anabaptists, however, were peaceful. In an age of religious intolerance, they called for religious toleration. They also put forward the idea of the separation of church and state. Despite harsh persecution for their threat to the traditional order, these groups influenced Protestant thinking in many countries. Today, the Baptists, Mennonites, and Amish all trace their religious ancestry to the Anabaptists.

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The Elizabethan Settlement

On Mary's death, the throne passed to her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth. For years, Elizabeth had survived court intrigues, including the religious swings under Edward and Mary. As queen, Elizabeth adopted a policy of religious compromise or acceptable middle ground. She moved cautiously at first but gradually enforced reforms that both moderate Catholics and Protestants could accept. This policy of compromise was later known as the Elizabethan settlement. Under Elizabeth, English replaced Latin as the language of the Anglican service. The Book of Common Prayer was restored, although it was revised to make it more acceptable to Catholics. Much of the Catholic ritual was kept. The Church of England also kept the old hierarchy of bishops and archbishops, but Elizabeth quickly affirmed that the monarch, not the pope, was the head of the Anglican Church. Even though Elizabeth preserved many traditional Catholic ideas, she firmly established England as a Protestant nation. During a long and skillful reign, she worked to restore unity, and England escaped the kinds of religious wars that tore apart other European countries in the 1500s.

Religious Turmoil

When Henry died in 1547, his nine-year-old son, Edward VI, inherited the throne. The young king's advisers were devout Protestants who pushed for Calvinist reforms. Thomas Cranmer drew up the Book of Common Prayer to be used in the Anglican Church. It imposed a moderate form of Protestant service but preserved many Catholic doctrines. Even so, it sparked uprisings that were harshly suppressed. When Edward died in his teens, his half-sister Mary Tudor came to the throne. A pious Catholic, she was determined to make England Catholic once more. She failed, but not before hundreds of English Protestants, including Archbishop Cranmer, were burned at the stake for heresy.

The Church of England

Between 1536 and 1540, Henry ordered the closing of all convents and monasteries in England and seized their lands and wealth for the crown. This became known as the dissolution, the dissolving, or ending, of Catholic monasteries in England. This move brought new wealth to the royal exchequer. Henry shrewdly granted some church lands to nobles and other high-ranking citizens, thereby securing their support for the Anglican Church, as the new Church of England was called. Henry used much of his newly acquired wealth to pursue wars in Europe. Despite Henry's actions in rejecting the pope's authority, he was not a religious radical. He had no use for most Protestant doctrines. Aside from breaking away from Rome and allowing the use of the English Bible, he kept most Catholic forms of worship.

Results of the Catholic Reformation

By 1600, the majority of Europeans remained Catholic. Tireless Catholic reformers, like Francis de Sales in France, had succeeded in bringing Protestants back into the Catholic Church. Across Catholic Europe, piety, charity, and religious art flourished, and church abuses were reduced from within. The reforms of the Catholic Reformation did stop the Protestant tide and even returned some areas to the Catholic Church. Still, Europe remained divided into a Catholic south and a Protestant north. This division would fuel conflicts that lasted for centuries, although later, the goals were more political than religious.

What was the impact of the Reformation on women?

Although women took part in the Reformation (and Counter-Reformation) to varying degrees, the religious fervor of the period generally made women more vulnerable to persecution and violence. Many women were the subjects of witch hunts. Those who lived outside the mainstream of society or worked in the healing arts, such as herbalists and midwives, were especially likely to be targeted.

In what ways did Anabaptist sects differ from other Protestant sects?

Anabaptists rejected the idea of infant baptism. Some wanted to speed up Judgment Day by violent means. Others wanted to abolish private property, while many preached religious toleration and the separation of Church and state.

Teresa of Avila

As the Catholic Reformation spread, many Catholics experienced renewed feelings of intense faith. Among those who experienced religious renewal was Teresa of Avila. Born into a wealthy Spanish family, Teresa entered a convent in her youth. The convent routine was not strict enough for her strong religious nature. So she set up her own order of nuns. They lived in isolation, eating, and sleeping very little and dedicating themselves to prayer and meditation. Impressed by her spiritual life, her superiors in the Church asked Teresa to reorganize and reform Spanish convents and monasteries. Teresa was widely honored for her work, and after her death, the Church made her a saint. Her spiritual writings rank among the most important Christian texts of her time and are still widely read today.

The Catholic Reformation

As the Protestant Reformation swept across northern Europe, a vigorous reform movement took hold within the Catholic Church. The leader of this movement, known as the Catholic Reformation, was Pope Paul III. (Protestants often called it the Counter-Reformation.) During the 1530s and 1540s, the pope set out to revive the moral authority of the Church and roll back the Protestant tide. To end corruption within the papacy, he appointed reformers to top posts. They and their successors led the Catholic Reformation for the rest of the century.

Henry VIII Seeks an Annulment

At first, Henry VIII stood firmly against the Protestant revolt. The pope even awarded him the title "Defender of the Faith" for a pamphlet that Henry wrote denouncing Luther. In 1527, however, an issue arose that set Henry at odds with the Church. After 18 years of marriage, Henry and his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon, had only one surviving child, Mary Tudor. Henry felt that England's stability depended on his having a male heir. He wanted to divorce Catherine and marry a new wife, hoping she would bear him a son. Because Catholic law does not permit divorce, he asked the pope to annul, or cancel, his marriage. Popes had annulled royal marriages before. But this pope refused. He did not want to offend the Holy Roman emperor Charles V, Catherine's nephew. He, therefore, refused Henry's request.

By 1600, the spread of Protestantism had transformed Catholic Europe. What was the main religion in France? Why were most people in each region practicing that religion by 1600?

Catholicism; Political leaders in these regions had settled on a particular religion, which led to conflicts and the persecution of members of other religions.

Religious Persecution Continues

During this period of heightened religious passion, persecution was widespread. Both Catholics and Protestants fostered intolerance. The Inquisition executed many people accused of heresy. Catholic mobs attacked and killed Protestants. Protestants killed Catholic priests and destroyed Catholic churches. Both Catholics and Protestants persecuted radical sects like the Anabaptists.

Why did the Reformation see an increase in persecution of people of different beliefs or religions?

During this period of heightened religious passion, persecution was widespread. Catholics and Protestants killed each other and ignited bloody religious wars. Both Catholics and Protestants persecuted radical sects like the Anabaptists. In troubled times, people looked for scapegoats. Tens of thousands of women and men died as victims of witch hunts. Restrictions on Jews increased. Many people were forced to live in ghettos or separate sections of a city.

What was one of the effects of the Protestant Reformation on religion in Europe?

Europe had more religious diversity as a variety of religious sects developed.

Aside from ending his marriage, in what other way did assuming leadership of the Church of England benefit Henry VIII?

He gained control of Church lands and wealth.

What factors led to the formation of the Church of England?

Henry VIII wanted a male heir. He believed that wasn't possible with his wife, Catherine of Aragon. When the pope refused to annul their marriage, Henry established the Church of England as separate and independent from Rome.

Henry VIII Breaks with the Church

Henry was furious. Spurred on by his advisers, many of whom leaned toward Protestantism, he decided to take over the English Church. Henry had Parliament pass a series of laws that took the English Church from the pope's control and placed it under Henry's rule. The most notable of these laws was the Act of Supremacy, passed in 1534. It made Henry "the only supreme head on Earth of the Church of England." By then, Henry had appointed Thomas Cranmer archbishop. Cranmer had annulled the king's marriage to Catherine. Henry married Anne Boleyn, a noble lady-in-waiting to Catherine. Soon, Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. In the years that followed, Henry married four more times but had only one son, Edward. Many loyal Catholics refused to accept the Act of Supremacy and were executed for treason. Among them was the well-known English humanist, Sir Thomas More. More was later canonized, or recognized as a saint, by the Catholic Church.

An Explosion of Protestant Sects

Henry was not alone in his anger. Across Europe, Catholic monarchs and the Catholic Church fought back against the Protestant challenge. They also took steps to reform the Church and to restore its spiritual leadership in the Christian world. As the Reformation continued, hundreds of new Protestant sects, or religious groups, sprang up. Some sects developed their own versions of the teachings of Luther or Calvin or followed the teachings of another Swiss reformer, Ulrich Zwingli. Others developed ideas that were increasingly radical.

The Jesuits

In 1540, the pope recognized a new religious order, the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. Founded by Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuit order was dedicated to combating heresy and spreading the Catholic faith. Ignatius was a Spanish knight whose military career ended abruptly when his leg was shattered in battle. During a long and painful recovery, he found comfort reading about Christian saints who had overcome mental and physical torture. He then vowed to become a "soldier of God." Ignatius drew up a strict program for the Jesuits. It included spiritual and moral discipline, rigorous religious training, and absolute obedience to the Church. Led by Ignatius, the Jesuits embarked on a crusade to defend and spread the Catholic faith worldwide. To further the Catholic cause, Jesuits became advisers to Catholic rulers, helping them combat heresy in their lands. They set up schools that taught humanist and Catholic beliefs and enforced discipline and obedience. Daring Jesuits slipped into Protestant lands in disguise to minister to Catholics. Jesuit missionaries spread their Catholic faith to Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

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The English Reformation

In England, religious leaders like John Wycliffe had called for Church reform as early as the 1300s. By the 1520s, some English clergy were exploring Protestant ideas. The break with the Catholic Church, however, was the work not of religious leaders but of King Henry VIII. For political reasons, Henry wanted to end papal control over the English Church.

What were some of the specific results of the Catholic Reformation?

It reaffirmed traditional Catholic doctrine and its differences from Protestant beliefs. It took steps to end abuses in the Church and corruption among the clergy through stiff penalties. It established schools to create a better-educated clergy who could challenge Protestant teachings. The Inquisition was strengthened and new religious orders to spread Catholicism were established. As a result, Europe remained mostly Catholic.

Witch Hunts

The religious fervor of the time contributed to a wave of witch-hunting. Between 1450 and 1750, tens of thousands of women and men died as victims of witch hunts. Often, those accused of being witches, or agents of the devil, were women. Scholars have offered various reasons for this savage persecution, but most agree that it had to do with people's beliefs in magic and spirits. At the time, people saw a close link between magic and heresy. Witches, they believed, were in league with the devil and were thus anti-Christian. In troubled times, people looked for scapegoats. Typically, people accused of witchcraft were social outcasts—beggars, poor widows, midwives blamed for infant deaths, or herbalists whose potions and cures were seen as gifts of the devil. In the charged religious atmosphere of the Reformation, many people were convinced that witchcraft and devil worship were on the rise. Most victims of witch hunts died in the German states, Switzerland, and France, all centers of religious conflict. When the wars of religion came to an end, the persecution of witches also declined

The Inquisition Is Strengthened

To deal with the Protestant threat more directly, Pope Paul strengthened the Inquisition. The Inquisition was a Church court set up during the Middle Ages. To battle Protestant ideas, the Inquisition used secret testimony, torture, and execution to root out what the Church considered heresy. It also prepared the Index of Forbidden Books, a list of works considered too immoral for Catholics to read. The list included books by Luther and Calvin and even some books by Italian humanists.

The Council of Trent Passes Reforms

To establish the direction that reform should take, the pope called the Council of Trent in 1545. It met off and on for almost 20 years. The council reaffirmed the traditional Catholic views that Protestants had challenged. The council believed that salvation comes through faith and good works. It declared that the Christian Bible, while a major source of religious truth, is not the only source. The council also took steps to end abuses in the Church. It provided stiff penalties for worldliness and corruption among the clergy. It also established schools to create a better-educated clergy who could challenge Protestant teachings.

How did Queen Elizabeth I unite the country?

by compromising and finding a middle ground between Protestants and Catholics