What were Luther’s main objections to the Catholic Church?
The sale of indulgences, the unquestioned authority of the pope, the secondary role of the Bible
Why did Luther gain an immediate following?
Some people genuinely wanted to end Church corruption; others wanted to take power from the Church to make themselves more powerful
How did Luther’s teachings affect people and society in Northern Europe?
Teachings lead to the establishment of a new church and sparked a period of social upheaval and violence due to religious beliefs.
Why did people begin to question the Church at this time?
Renaissance thought encouraged people to question the world around them.
What factors set the stage for the Protestant Reformation?
Anger about Church practices such as selling indulgences, societal upheaval as a result of a changing economy, and the ability of the printing press to spread ideas quickly
How did the Reformation bring about two different religious paths in Europe?
Catholic monarchs and the Catholic church fought against the Protestant challenge, they took steps to reform the Church and to restore its spiritual leadership of the Christian world, Protestant ideas still spread.
Who were the Anabaptists?
Protestants who rejected infant baptism.
Why did Protestants develop many sects, rather than just embracing Lutheranism?
Everyone had different criticisms about the Catholic Church and they all had different ideas of how the Christian faith was to be.
Why did the Catholic Church remain unchallenged for so long?
People at the time were afraid of the Church’s authority.
Why was the Church of England established?
King Henry VIII declared the Church of England independent of Rome when he was refused a grant to divorce.
How did Henry gain support from the Anglican Church?
By keeping some forms of Catholic worship and he gave Church lands to important people.
How did Luther’s ideas differ from those expressed by the Catholic Church?
Luther placed a great emphasis on direct examination of the Bible and people’s personal relationship to God. The Church had a greater emphasis on power and authority.
How did revolts against the Roman Catholic Church affect northern European society?
People began to question specific practices of the Church and the role and practice of religion in general, leading to the spread of Protestantism.
Why did Calvinists believe they were the “chosen people?”
They believed God had chosen them to build a true Christian society.
What aspect of Calvinism might have appealed to people in a time of uncertainty?
The idea that if they lived good lives, that meant that God had already chosen them to gain salvation.
How were Calvin’s ideas put into practice?
In Geneva, Calvinists set up a theocracy, in other places they established churches and led rebellions.
Why did the selling of indulgences become a critical issue during the Renaissance but not during the Middle Ages?
In medieval times, people accepted the authority of the Church without question. Influenced by Renaissance thought, people began to look critically at questionable church practices.
How did the Renaissance open doors to the Protestant Reformation?
Renaissance thinkers began to question the Church as the sole source of truth, opening the way for people to question the Church on more specific issues as well.
Why might the Catholic Church have wanted to establish a rigorous religious order at the time of the Reformation?
The Catholic Church wanted to strengthen itself and train priests to spread Catholicism.
What were the basic components of the Catholic Reformations?
Reform of Church pracitices, strengthening the Inquistion, and founding new religious orders to bolster Catholicism.
Why might the Catholic Church have found the ideas of Ignatius to be particularly relevant to the Catholic Reformation?
Ignatius was seen as a strong and disciplined leader the Church needed to fight the Reformation.
Why did the Church respond with its Catholic Reformation?
It needed to prevent large numbers of people from embracing Protestantism and thereby weakening the Church.
How did reforms cause England to become a Protestant country?
They gave Henry VIII the idea to break apart from the Church, and his influence caused the majority of English to convert to Protestantism.
Why were the Anabaptists considered radical?
They advocated great social change and a different interpretation of the Bible.
