High School Academics

1. Ch. 1.3 Notes
“Instead of saving the souls of the
dead and sending them to heaven,
they gorge themselves at banquets
after funerals.”

2. The Protestant Reformation First
Took Place in Germany
 During the Renaissance, the Christian church came
under fire for corruption
 In the late middle ages, the church became
increasingly involved in worldly affair
 The Pope competed for political power with Italian Princes
 Also maintained a lavish lifestyle
 Were also patrons of the arts
 Paid people to beautify the churches
 To pay for projects, they increased fees for weddings and
baptisms, and sold indulgences
 Lessening of the time a soul would spend in purgatory
 Fought wars to protect the papal states
 Many Christians rejected the worldliness of the
church, and urged a return to the simple ways of
the early Christian church

3. Luther’s Protest
 In 1517 protests
turned into full scale
revolt
 These were
triggered by Martin
Luther, who hated
church corruption
and worldliness

4. The Incident
A priest stood on a pulpit in Wittenberg
and offered indulgences to anyone who
would donate money for the rebuilding
of St. Peter’s cathedral in Rome. This
would ensure entry into heaven for you
and your dead relatives. “Can’t you
hear the voices of your dead parents
and other relatives crying out?”

5.  This prompted Luther to write the 95
theses
 This was a list of why indulgences were
wrong.
 No basis in Bible for indulgences
 Pope had no authority to release souls from
purgatory
 Christians could be saved only through faith
 He posted these on the door of the
Wittenberg church

6.  The Theses were circulated quickly
around Europe
 The Church wanted Luther to recant,
but he would not
 Luther urged Christians to reject authority
of Rome
 Church excommunicated Luther

7. After a meeting with Charles V,
Holy Roman Emperor…
 Luther was declared an outlaw
 Anyone who helped Luther would be
punished
 Many still hailed Luther as a hero
 Supported his beliefs
 Renounced the authority of the Pope.

8. Luther’s Teachings
 Rejected that good deeds were necessary for
salvation (salvation through faith)
 Upheld the Bible as the sole source of religious
truth
 Rejected idea that Popes or Priests had more
power to communicate with God than the common
man
 Banned 5/7 sacraments of the Catholic Church
 Banned indulgences
 Confession
 Pilgrimages
 Prayers to saints
 Simplified mass and emphasized sermons
 Permitted clergy to marry
 Supporters were called Lutherans, but by 1530
began to be called Protestants because they
protested papal authority

9. Why did They Support?
 Because the clergy saw Lutheranism as
an answer to corruption
 Princes saw it as an opportunity to
reduce the power of the Emperor and
the Pope
 Germans were tired of sending money
to Italy to support the Church

10.  Peasants revolted in
hopes Luther would
support their cause
 Luther favored social
order, and denounced
their revolt
 Tens of thousands were
killed.
 Luther likened them to
mad dogs (quote, pg.
46

11. Peace of Augsburg Treaty
 Charles V agreed to let each prince
decide which religion would be
practiced in his land
 Most in North were Lutheran, The South
was Catholic

12. John Calvin
 Wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion
 Told of his religious beliefs
 Bible
 Salvation through faith
 Predestination
 Reformers from all over visited Geneva and then
returned home to spread Calvinism
 Set off religious wars all over Europe between
Calvinists, Lutherans, and Catholics.
 Was asked to lead the city of Geneva in
Switzerland
 City saw themselves as the chosen people