Reformation Flashcards
What does the term Reformation mean?
refers to a complex series of events with the result being a number of different groups formally breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church
What does the word ‘protestant’ mean?
protest
What were More’s and Erasmus’ view on the reformation?
- wanted reform as they wanted the church to be less about wealth and image, and return to its core beliefs
- wanted reform but not to break away from the Roman Catholic Church
Who published ‘95 Theses’ and in what year?
- Martin Luther
- 1517
What did Luther attack in his ‘95 Theses’?
- Church practises:practise of confession, the sale of indulgences
- Supremacy of the Pope
- Transubstantiation
- Worship of saints and the virgin Mary
- Churches authority to grant salvation (salvation can only be achieved by good faith alone)
- Churches authority to interpret God’s word
- Instead of seven sacraments he said there was only three
- Separation between the lay (ordinary Christians) and the clergy (body of all people ordained for religious duties)
What does the sale of indulgences mean?
Indulgences were a theological principle of forgiveness and punishment in the Catholic Church. Payments, prayers and other forms of physical contrition were a way to reduce time needed to spend in purgatory before someone enters heaven. Purgatory is according to some Christians, an immediate state after physical death for expiatory purification.
Who was John Wycliff?
- English 14th century reformer who demanded many of the same things that Luther demanded
- Founded the Lollard movement in England which later took up Lutheranism when it reached England
How did politics affect the Reformation in Germany?
- Anti-clericalism was rife in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
- Lower-classes as well as German princes wanted to challenge the economic and political power of the Roman Catholic Church. Chance to take back these lands and earn income was very appealing
What does anti-clericalism mean?
opposition to the clergy for its real or alleged influence in political and social affairs, for its doctrinairism, for its privileges or property
In what years was the German Peasants War?
1524-1525
What year was the Peace of Augsburg and what did it say?
- 1555
- officially ended the religious struggle between the two groups and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing rulers to chose either Lutheranism or Catholicism
- Faith of the ruler determine the faith of the region they controlled
How did politics affect the Reformation in England?
- Initially King Henry VIII had been a supporter of the Church
- This changed when Henry asked the Pope for his blessing in marrying Catharine of Aragon, which the Pope refused to do because of geopolitical issues
- Henry then broke with the Church and formed his own which didn’t take orders from the Pope
What did Protestant reformers disagree on?
role of priests and whether priests were needed at all
What were Zwingli’s beliefs and where were they present?
- similar to Luther apart from a number of issues such as :
1. wanted a simpler church (removal of liturgy, decorations, music)
2. Denial of the ‘real presence’
3. ‘Reformed’ (as opposed to ‘evangelical’)
4. These ideas prevailed in South Germany and Switzerland
What did Calvinist believe?
- Opposed to idolatry and pictorial representations of the divine
- Doctrine of Predestination: God had already established before you were born who would be saved and who will not be saved
- Have good conduct (fait already decided to act as if you have already been saved)
What members of society supported Calvinism?
-merchants and artisans as Calvinism assigned high status to labour and good conduct
Who were the Hugeunots?
French Protestants who fought against French Catholics in the French Wars of Religion
What was the name of the Massacre that took place between the French Catholics and Protestants (Hugeunots) and when did this take place?
-St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, 1572
What was the political element of the French Wars of Religion?
-Hugeunot movement members were normally nobles and high ranking citizens who opposed the growing power of the Catholic monarchy
How did the French Wars of Religion end?
-Henry of Navarre/Henry IV of France was Catholic but introduced legislation (Edict of Nantes) that allowed Protestants to live freely
Who revoked the Edict of Nantes?
Louis XIV of France in 1685
What does the term heresy mean?
belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine
When did the Counter (Catholic) Reformation begin?
1520s
What event kickstarted the Counter (Catholic) Reformation and when was this held?
-Council of Trent in 1545-1563
What happened at the Council of Trent?
- attempt to increase discipline to what could be said and written in books
- strongly opposed to Protestant heresy
What are some of the similarities between the Counter (Catholic) Reformation and the Protestant Reformation?
- attack on superstitious practises (idea of magic which were often drawn from pagan ideas)
- Increase in education (increase in lay education for Catholics)
- Monitoring the clergy (visitation by Church delegates as well as increased education of the clergy)
- Wide use of print
- Emphasised preaching (Geneva academy for the Calvinists and the Jesuit’s for the Catholics)
- Parish administrative efficiency (becomes centre for religious devotion replacing chapels_
- Individual self-control
In what years did the Thirty Years War take place?
1618-1648
Were the Hapsburgs Catholic or Protestant?
Catholic
How did the Thirty Years War start?
- 1617 Ferdinand of Styria (a Catholic Hapsburg) chosen king of Bohemia (been Protestant for over 100 years)
- He began to close down Protestant churches
What was the event that sparked the Thirty Years War?
- Defenestration of Prague 1618
- 2 royal officials (Catholic) were thrown out of a window by disgruntled Protestant estates
Evidence that the Thirty Years War had political motivations?
- attempt to control Habsburg power in Europe
- France joined the side of the Protestants even though it was a Catholic country as they wanted to lessen Hapsburg power
How much of the population of the Holy Roman Empire was killed in the Thirty Years War?
- 1/4 to a 1/3
What ended the Thirty Years War?
Peace of Westphalia in 1648
What did the Peace of Westphalia say?
-territorial rulers within the Empire were given the right to choose the religion of their territories
How was the Peace of Westphalia an extension to the Peace of Augsburg?
-Calvinism joined Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Calvinism as a legitimate confession to choose from
What does Confessionalization mean?
process of state choosing what confession to support
Was the Roman Catholic Church more hegemonic or less hegemonic after the Peace of Westphalia?
less as they had tried to impose Roman Catholicism on Europe but had failed
How did religious minorities experience persecution in this period?
- Catholic inquisitions ( rooted out most Protestants and Protestant sympathisers in Italy, Spain and Portugal by the end of the 16th century.
- This persecution led to expulsion with Baptist and Quakers fleeing to America along with many puritans)
How did religious minorities experience limited toleration during this period?
Edict of Nantes allowed certain regions of France to practise Protestantism (Huguenots)
How did religious minorities experience full toleration in this period?
-British Toleration Act 1698 which was an act of Parliament granting freedom of worship to Non-conformists
How is the term toleration different in the early modern period compared to our understanding today?
-in the early modern period the term meant that they believed there was only one religion but accepted that others could be wrong.
What does Mary Wiesner-Hanks mean by the term ‘reciprocal comparison’ when talking about global Reformations?
- sweeping religious reform and confessionalization across the globe
- Guru Nanak (1469-1539): criticised outward displays of worship and argued that religious writings should not just be available for the elite and therefore should be in the common language and this became the basis of Sikhism
- Askia the Great who used his power to re-invigorate Islam and that there were other reforms in North Africa at this time
- Relationships between the growth of the state and religious change
- Role of print essential to this idea of global Reformations
What does Mary Wiesner Hanks say when she talks about the impact of the European Reformation globally?
- Dutch spread of Calvinism in certain parts of Asia
- Quakers and Baptists who fled to America spreading ideas
What is meant by the term “social discipline”?
- rulers and clergy sought to make their states and communities more moral and orderly
- passed laws against blasphemy, dancing, and other activities judged immoral, began to keep records of marriages, births, baptisms, and deaths so that they could better monitor the status of individuals, and increased the power of courts
What does the term secularism mean?
principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institution
