The Reformation

Question 1

Define:

nepotism

Answer 1

Nepotism refers to the appointment of one’s family members to positions within an organization. In the years before the Reformation, nepotism in the Catholic Church was particularly egregious, with Popes commonly naming nephews and illegitimate children as bishops or cardinals.

Question 2

What priestly conduct seemed particularly egregious to critics of the Catholic Church during the 15th century?

Answer 2

Critics condemned the keeping of concubines, which was common for priests during the 15th century. Sexual licentiousness prevailed throughout the Catholic Church. Many priests traded the absolution of sins for sexual favors from female parishioners, and even Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503) was known to attend the occasional orgy.

Question 3

Define:

indulgences

Answer 3

To raise money to build St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Leo X (1475-1521) authorized the sale of indulgences.

The purchase of an indulgence allowed a person to shorten their (or a deceased loved one’s) time in purgatory, and in some cases forgave sins before they were committed.

Question 4

What event signaled the beginning of the Protestant Reformation?

Answer 4

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a priest and professor of theology, nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a Catholic church in Wittenberg, Germany.

Outraged that church members were forced to pay for the forgiveness that was a free gift from God, Luther’s 95 Theses sharply criticized the practice of selling indulgences. The Theses were 95 questions designed to provoke debate within the Catholic Church.

Question 5

What ensured the rapid dissemination of Luther’s 95 Theses?

Answer 5

The printing press allowed for the easy distribution of Luther’s 95 Theses throughout Germany. Although Luther insisted that indulgences were errant since only God could forgive sin, he did not intend to break from the Catholic Church, but merely to start a scholarly debate on the subject of indulgences.

Question 6

How did the Papacy respond to Luther’s 95 Theses?

Answer 6

The Papacy dispatched theologian John Eck who debated Luther at Leipzig, Germany in 1519. During the debate, Luther contended that the Pope was neither infallible nor did he have the exclusive right to interpret Scripture.

Question 7

After Luther challenged the Pope’s authority in 1519, how did Pope Leo X react?

Answer 7

In 1520, the Pope sent a papal bull (an edict) demanding that Luther recant his statements or risk excommunication. Luther burned the bull, and in 1521 the Pope excommunicated him.

Question 8

Although not a Lutheran, Prince _____ _____ of Saxony was Luther’s chief protector.

Answer 8

Frederick III

Following his excommunication, both Papal authorities and those of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V attempted to imprison Luther.

Question 9

What was the Diet of Worms (1521)?

Answer 9

At the Diet of Worms, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who had the power to execute Luther for heresy, called upon Luther to renounce his beliefs. Luther refused to do so and was condemned to banishment by Charles V.

Prince Frederick III rescued Luther once more and hid him in Wartburg Castle, where Luther began working on a German version of the Bible.

Question 10

How did Luther’s view on salvation differ from that of the Catholic Church?

Answer 10

Luther viewed salvation as stemming from faith alone, as opposed to the Catholic belief that taking the seven sacraments and good works would lead to salvation. Thus, Luther’s views stood directly against those of the Pope and the Catholic Church.

Question 11

How was Luther’s view of scriptural authority different from that of the Catholic Church?

Answer 11

Luther contended that the Bible was the sole means of knowing God’s will. The Catholic Church believed that both the Bible and the Pope communicated God’s will towards man.

By denying the power of the Pope, Luther challenged the authority of the Catholic Church itself.

Question 12

Define:

Priesthood of All Believers

Answer 12

Priesthood of All Believers is a term popularized by Martin Luther, and holds that all believers are priests in God’s eyes. Luther’s concept struck at the power of priests, bishops, cardinals, and Popes, whom the Catholic Church posited needed to intercede with God on man’s behalf.

Question 13

What attracted many of the rulers of the North German states of the Holy Roman Empire to Luther’s teachings?

Answer 13

Although Luther’s teachings were attractive in their own right, Lutheranism also gave many of the North German rulers the opportunity to seize Church lands, significantly adding to their holdings.

Denmark and Sweden also became Lutheran, while many of the South German states remained in the Catholic camp.

Question 14

Why didn’t the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V suppress Lutheranism?

Answer 14

Charles V was a staunch Catholic and disapproved of Lutheranism. While Lutheranism was rising in the North German states under his control in the 1520s, he was also fighting a war against the Turks from his Austrian possessions, and his Spanish troops were involved in a war against the French and their allies in Italy.

By the time Charles V was able to turn his attention to German affairs, Lutheranism had already gained an insurmountable foothold.

Question 15

How did Martin Luther’s doctrines lead to the German Peasants’ Revolt of 1524-1525?

Answer 15

Luther’s doctrine of the primacy of Scripture in interpreting God’s will was used by peasants to justify revolting against any social construct that ran counter to Godly law. Amongst other things, the peasants sought an end to serfdom and a limitation on labor due to nobles.

As an example of rebellion against both the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, the two most powerful authorities of the era, Luther himself also provided inspiration.

Question 16

What was Martin Luther’s reaction to the German Peasants’ Revolt of 1524-1525?

Answer 16

Luther was not amused. In his polemic Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants, Luther condemned the revolt and urged the princes to do whatever was necessary to suppress the revolt. Both Catholic and Lutheran princes joined together to do so, and nearly 100,000 peasants were slaughtered.

Question 17

How did Luther view the role of secular monarchs?

Answer 17

Having contended that the Pope had no jurisdiction over Christians, Luther argued that the authority to regulate the rights of Christians belonged to secular rulers, such as princes and kings.

Luther contended that monarchs are divinely appointed; thus, to disobey a monarch was to disobey God himself. Luther’s arguments would be used by both Catholic and Protestant rulers to justify the “divine right of kings” in absolutist states.

Question 18

How did the term “Protestant” originate?

Answer 18

At a 1529 meeting of the member states of the Holy Roman Empire, the Emperor’s representative demanded that those princes who’d seized church lands return them to the Pope, and swear allegiance to the Catholic Church.

Delegates from the Lutheran states contended that secular authorities had no prerogative on matters of faith, and protested the Emperor’s order. They were termed “Protestant” and Protestantism had begun.

Question 19

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V made one final attempt to reconcile Catholicism and Lutheranism, calling an Imperial Diet at Augsburg in 1530 and demanding that the leading Lutherans present a written summary of their beliefs. What is this summary called?

Answer 19

This summary is known as the Augsburg Confession, and was drafted by Philipp Melanchthon, one of Luther’s followers.

The Confession became one of the core documents of Lutheranism, and with the aid of the printing press was distributed widely in both Latin and German.

Charles V died in 1558, having failed to reconcile Catholicism and Lutheranism.

Question 20

What Protestant military alliance was formed for mutual protection against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s attempts to attack?

Answer 20

Many of the Protestant states of the Holy Roman Empire concluded a mutual defense pact in 1531, known as the Schmalkaldic League. Membership was open to any monarch who signed the Augsburg Confession.

Until 1546, Charles V left the League largely alone, as he was preoccupied by wars against the Ottoman Turks and the French.

The League’s name comes from the German town of Schmalkalden.

Question 21

Although Catholic, France’s Valois leaders supported the Schmalkaldic League. Why?

Answer 21

Hapsburg lands surrounded France; Spain to the south, the Netherlands to the north, and the Holy Roman Empire to the east.

By aiding the Schmalkaldic League, France’s Valois dynasty encouraged German disunity and prevented the encirclement of France by Hapsburg lands.

Question 22

What were the results of the Schmalkaldic War (1546-1547)?

Answer 22

In 1546, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V went to war with the Schmalkaldic League, composed of Protestant states. Although Charles V was successful on the battlefield, Protestantism was too firmly established in North Germany to be suppressed by force.

In 1555, the two sides agreed to the Peace of Augsburg, which allowed the princes of the Empire to select either Lutheranism or Catholicism as the religion for their domains.

Question 23

In 1555, after 27 years on the throne, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V abdicated. Whom did he name as his successor(s)?

Answer 23

Charles V permanently divided the Hapsburg domains. His brother Ferdinand I (1503-1564) was named Holy Roman Emperor and given direct control of the dynastic Hapsburg lands in Austria. Charles V’s son Philip II (1527-1598) inherited the rest of the Empire, including Spain and its colonies in the New World, the Netherlands, and territories in Italy.

Question 24

Who was Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)?

Answer 24

Zwingli was the founder of the Swiss Reformation. Zwingli was a Swiss humanist and pastor, who developed an independent form of Protestantism through the influence of Luther and Erasmus. While both Luther and Zwingli emphasized the primacy of Scripture and many other beliefs, the parties could not reconcile their differences on the meaning of the Eucharist.

Question 25

Who followed Luther as the dominant figure of the Protestant Reformation?

Answer 25

John Calvin (1509-1564), a French humanist exiled to Geneva, followed Luther as the leader of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin preached predestination, contending that an omniscient God knew in advance who was going to heaven and hell.

Calvin established a theocracy in Geneva, which became home to Protestant exiles from Scotland, the Netherlands, France, and England. Upon their return to their home countries, these exiles brought Calvin’s teachings with them.

Question 26

What is the most important difference between Lutheranism and Calvinism?

Answer 26

While both Lutheranism and Calvinism share a belief in justification by faith alone, they differ on the concept of predestination. Lutheranism contends that anyone may attain salvation through faith alone, while Calvinism contends that only those predestined by God will be saved.

Question 27

Which religious leader founded Presbyterianism?

Answer 27

Presbyterianism was founded by John Knox (1514-1572), a Scot who had studied with John Calvin in Geneva. Knox founded the Calvinist church in Scotland and instituted presbyters (meetings of church elders) to govern the Church. During the late 1500s, Calvinsim became the dominant Scottish religion.

Question 28

Define

Huguenots

Answer 28

Huguenots were French Calvinists. In France, Calvinism appealed to merchants, the middle and high bourgeoisie, and artisans, and was a decidedly urban movement. By 1559, there were enough Huguenots to hold a national synod, although such an act was illegal under French law.

Question 29

Who were the Anabaptists?

Answer 29

The Anabaptists were a radical Protestant sect that rejected infant baptism, the concept of the Trinity, and supported polygamy.

In 1534, Anabaptists under John of Leyden seized the town of Münster, burned every book but the Bible and killed some local Lutherans. Catholic and Protestant princes united to retake Münster and killed the Anabaptist leadership.

Question 30

Why did the English King Henry VIII (1491-1547) want a divorce from Catherine of Aragon?

Answer 30

Although she’d given birth to a daughter, Henry VIII was convinced that Catherine’s failure to provide him a male heir was the result of their marriage, and sought a divorce from the Pope in the hope that he could marry a woman who would provide him a son.

Question 31

How did Pope Clement VII react to Henry VIII’s request to a divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1529?

Answer 31

At the time Henry made his request, the Pope was under the physical control of by Charles V, who was also Catherine of Aragon’s nephew. The Pope had no desire to anger his captor, and forbade Henry’s request.

Question 32

What event signaled Henry VIII’s first break with the Catholic Church?

Answer 32

In 1530, Henry VIII banished Catherine of Aragon from Court, and acknowledged Anne Boleyn as de facto Queen, with the reluctant agreement of Pope Clement VII. In 1532, Henry VIII and Anne were married.

Henry would later have Anne beheaded, and go through another four wives before he died. Jane Seymour, his third wife, finally gave Henry the legitimate male heir for which he’d been hoping.

Question 33

In 1534, Parliament passed the _____ _____ _____, which named Henry VIII the head of the Catholic Church in England.

Answer 33

Act of Supremacy

The Act deliberately contravened the Pope’s authority in England, and marked an expansion of Henry’s power at the expense of the Church.

Question 34

The Act of Succession (1534) demanded that each of Henry VIII’s subjects take what oath?

Answer 34

The Act of Succession required each subject to take a loyalty oath, recognizing Henry VIII as the head of the Church in England.

Sir Thomas More, once Henry’s close adviser and the author of Utopia, refused and was beheaded.

Question 35

What was the Statute of Six Articles?

Answer 35

In 1541, Parliament passed the Statute of Six Articles, which established the primary belief system of the Anglican Church as the successor to the Catholic Church in England.

The Statute confirmed many Catholic practices, and established that while Protestant, the Anglican Church was closer to Catholicism than Lutheranism or Calvinism.

Question 36

In 1542, Parliament officially named Henry VIII of England the King of what country?

Answer 36

Already King of England, the Crown of Ireland Act of 1542 recognized Henry as the King of Ireland as well.

Question 37

What daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon attempted to reintroduce Catholicism in England?

Answer 37

Mary I of England (1516-1558) became Queen in 1553, after the death of her brother Edward VI, who’d introduced Calvinism as the official religion. A staunch Catholic and wife of Philip II of Spain, Mary sought to reestablish Catholicism.

Under Mary, the Heresy Acts condemned anyone not practicing Catholicism to death. 283 Protestants were burned at the stake, earning the Queen the sobriquet Bloody Mary. She died childless in 1558.

Question 38

Which Queen succeeded Mary I as Queen of England?

Answer 38

Mary I was followed by Elizabeth I (1533-1603), the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Known as Good Queen Bess, the English Church became fully Protestant during her reign.

Question 39

What was the Elizabethan Settlement?

Answer 39

The Elizabethan Settlement (1559) attempted to settle the long-running dispute between Catholics and Protestants, which Parliament promulgated during Elizabeth I’s reign.

The Settlement said that as long as her subjects conformed outward to the Anglican Church, they could worship privately as they saw fit.

Question 40

The _____ sought further reforms than those which resulted from England’s break with Catholicism in the 1500s.

Answer 40

Puritans

The Puritans sought to further purify the Anglican Church from Catholic practices and dogma, which earned the enmity of the Crown. Many Puritans fled to the New World to escape prosecution.

Question 41

What Catholic religious order was founded to provide reform within the Catholic Church?

Answer 41

The Jesuits, founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534, sought to reform the Church from the inside. The Jesuits emphasized education and missionary work, in part to refute Protestant theologians and to prevent Protestantism’s further spread.

Question 42

What two key results stemmed from the Council of Trent (1545-1563)?

Answer 42

The Council of Trent marked the intellectual high point of the Counter-Reformation. As a gathering of Catholic leaders which continued under a number of Popes, the Council refined and systematized Catholic belief, and remedied most of the excesses which had provoked the Reformation, including banning indulgences, pluralism, and simony.

So effective was the Council in reforming the Church that another Church Council was not called for 300 years.

Question 43

How did both Catholics and Calvinists view the interaction between church and state?

Answer 43

Both Catholics and Calvinists saw the church as supreme to the state, and John Calvin even went so far as to establish a theocracy in Geneva. In contrast, both the Lutherans and Anglicans felt that the state was to be supreme to the Church.