Focus questions: Chapter 13
What were Martin Luther's main disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church, and what political, economic, and social conditions help explain why the movement he began spread so quickly across Europe?
1st Paragraph: Luther didn't like the Catholic practice of selling indulgences. In his Ninety-Five Theses, Luther listed all the sins of selling indulgences, convinced that indulgences bring eternal damnation. 2nd Paragraph: Luther debated with Catholics on various issues involving papal authority. Luther denied the authority of the pope and criticized the Catholic Church both in debates, and pamphlets such as _Babylonian Captivity of the Church_ (criticized papal authority), and _On the Freedom of a Christian Man_ (talked about salvation). As a result, he was excommunicated and summoned to the Diet of Worms. There, he refused to recant his statements opposing the church, and as a result, was declared a heretic. 3rd Paragraph: Lutheranism spread so quickly due to the political, economic, and social conditions that affected Europe at the time. Politically, the princes and imperial cities converted to Lutheranism, enabling Lutheranism to survive. The princes converted to Lutheranism for various reasons, including economic reasons, such as princes not having to pay a Catholic tax and keeping more money in their territory. By social means, the peasants are attracted to Luther's idea that all Christians are equal. Although Luther supported the princes over the peasants, the peasants were inspired by Luther's break from the Catholic Church and revolted against the peasants.
What were the main tenets of Lutheranism, Zwinglianism, Anabaptism, and Calvinism, and how did they differ from each other and from Catholicism? What impact did political, economic, and social conditions have on the development of these four reform movements?
1st: How did Protestants differ from each other? 2nd: How did they differ from Catholicism? 3rd: What impact did political, economic, and social conditions have on the development of these four reform movements?
What impact did the Protestant Reformation have on society in the sixteenth century?
3 areas of society Protestants advocate family life rather than celibacy. Since Protestants abolished idea of special holiness for celibacy, family could be placed at the center of human life, and a new stress on "mutual love between man and wife" could be extolled. However, the reformation also left few opportunities for women due to the destruction of convents, leaving only family life as a destiny. Women were educated, albeit only in a primary school, so that she can raise her future children in the Christian faith.
What measures did the Roman Catholic Church take to reform itself and to combat Protestantism in the sixteenth century?
Catholic Reformation: a revived papacy; the regeneration of old religious orders and the founding of new ones, most notably the Jesuits; and the reaffirmation of traditional Catholic doctrine at the Council of Trent. 1st Paragraph: The regeneration of religious orders also proved valuable to the reform of Catholicism. Old orders (Benedictine and Dominican) were renewed and reformed by eradicating corrupt practices. New orders (Capuchin, Theatine, and Ursuline) were created as well. Jesuits were among the new orders. They established schools that have a lot of humanist educational methods, converted many non-believers to the faith, and fought Protestantism. 2nd Paragraph: The reform of the papacy helped advance the Catholic Reformation. Pope Paul III advocated for reform, making reformers into cardinals, such as Cardinal Carrafa. He summoned various councils, such as the one in Trent, in order to cleanse the papacy out of corruption. When Paul III died, Cardinal Carrafa, now Pope Paul IV, took over, and he increased the power of the papacy so much that some people consider him as the first true pope of the Counter-Reformation Period. He increased the authority of the Roman Inquisition to the point that there was to be no compromise with the Protestants. He also created the Index of Forbidden Books, books that Catholics aren't allowed to read, including Protestant works. 3rd Paragraph: The reaffirmation of Catholic teachings helped complete the Catholic Reformation. The Catholic Clergy convened in a series of meetings in Trent to resolve the doctrinal differences. Moderates, who want compromise, and conservatives, who don't, debated each other during the Council of Trent, and after a while, the conservatives won. Although some reforms were made, the Catholic Church reaffirmed most of their beliefs, such as the 7 sacraments, the indulgences, and transubstantiation. The Council of Trent helped the Catholics to possess a clear doctrine and strengthened unity within the Catholic Church.
What role did politics, economic and social conditions, and religion play in the European wars of the sixteenth century?
Politics: Due to growing monarchical power, towns, provinces, and Calvinist nobles ganged up on French monarchy, halting the centralized monarchy. (Politiques: a group who emerged during the French Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century, placed politics above religion, and believed that no religious truth was worth the ravages of civil war.) Economic and Social conditions: Religion: French Wars of Religion (Huguenots vs. Guise vs. Valois): since the Catholics greatly outnumbered the Calvinists, Catholics don't see why they should compromise. Saint Bartholomew Day's Massacre: Guise ordered massacre of Huguenots, triggering French Wars.
What were the chief ideas of the Christian humanists, and how did they differ from the ideas of the Christian reformers?
They cultivated a knowledge a knowledge of classics by studying works of antiquity early Christian fathers (Saints Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome); felt that through education in the sources of Classical, and especially Christian, antiquity, they could instill a true inner religious feeling that would reform the church and society (supported schools as a result, brought out new editions of classics, and prepared new editions of the Bible and writings of the church fathers). Erasmus: formulated and popularized the reform program of Christian humanism. The Handbook of the Christian Knight, he emphasized inner piety and de-emphasized the external forms of religion (such as the sacraments, pilgrimages, fasts, veneration of saints, and relics). He edited the Greek text of the New Testament from the earliest available manuscripts and published it, along with a new Latin translation. Thomas More: lord chancellor of England. A devout man, he spent many hours in prayer and private devotions. His book Utopia reflects his own concerns with the economic, social, and political problems of his day. He presented a new social system in which cooperation and reason replaced power and fame as the proper motivating agents for human society. Utopian society, therefore, was based on communal ownership rather than private property. More willingly gave up his life opposing England's break with the Roman Catholic Church over the divorce of King Henry VIII. They differ from the Christian reformers in that while the Christian humanists want to bring back the simplicity of the old church, the reformers want to change the corrupt practices of the church.
