Scribd
Upload
92 views4 pages

Reformation Key Facts

The Reformation was a 16th century religious revolution that split Western Christianity into Roman Catholics and Protestants. Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses in 1517 criticizing the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences, which he believed undermined the Bible as the sole religious authority. Luther's writings circulated widely and angered the Catholic Church, which excommunicated him. The Reformation spread Protestant beliefs like salvation through faith alone and ordinary people's ability to read the Bible in their own language. It ultimately divided Europe and led to over 30 years of war between Catholic and Protestant powers.

Uploaded by

WhiteWorld
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
92 views4 pages

Reformation Key Facts

The Reformation was a 16th century religious revolution that split Western Christianity into Roman Catholics and Protestants. Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses in 1517 criticizing the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences, which he believed undermined the Bible as the sole religious authority. Luther's writings circulated widely and angered the Catholic Church, which excommunicated him. The Reformation spread Protestant beliefs like salvation through faith alone and ordinary people's ability to read the Bible in their own language. It ultimately divided Europe and led to over 30 years of war between Catholic and Protestant powers.

Uploaded by

WhiteWorld
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Reformation Key Facts

By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Martin LutherLibrary of Congress, Washington,

-The Reformation was the religious revolution in the 16th


century that resulted in the split of Western Christianity
between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
- Before the Reformation, Christianity had split once before. In
1054 Pope Leo IX excommunicated the patriarch of
Constantinople, Michael Cerularius, and his followers, and the
patriarch retaliated with a similar excommunication. The result
was a schism, or break in the unity of the church, that divided
Christianity into Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern
(Orthodox) branches.
- In the early 1500s some Roman Catholics objected to church
practices. These included the sale of indulgences. If a person
paid money to the church, then the church would forgive that
person’s sins. People could even buy indulgences to forgive the
sins of others who had already died.
- In 1517 a German religious scholar named Martin
Luther wrote the Ninety-five Theses. In this document he
argued that the sale of indulgences was wrong. Luther also
suggested that because the pope was already rich that he should
not collect money from poor people. Today Protestants consider
publication of the theses to be the beginning of the
Reformation.
- Luther wanted to reform Roman Catholicism. He believed that
Catholic leaders misunderstood the Bible. Luther insisted the
Bible was the only source of religious authority and that
messages from the pope—or from Luther himself—lacked that
authority. The sole authority of the Bible became an essential
belief among most Protestants.
- Luther also believed that forgiveness for sins came entirely
from God. This became another central idea of the Reformation.
In contrast, Roman Catholic teachings held that forgiveness
came both from God and as a result of the good works that
people do.
- The invention of the mechanized printing press meant that
the Ninety-Five Theses circulated widely.

-Luther’s actions angered powerful church leaders. The pope


excommunicated him in 1521. Later that year Luther was
declared an outlaw. While in hiding he translated the New
Testament into German so that more people could read
it. Before this the commonly used Bible was in Latin. Priests
could read it, but ordinary people could not.
William Tyndale published an important English translation of
part of the Bible, the first to be printed. He told a Roman
Catholic scholar, “I will cause the boy that drives the plow to
know more of the Scripture than you.” In other words, Tyndale
wanted ordinary working people to read and understand the
Bible.
John CalvinLibrary of Congress, Washington
John Calvin was one of the most important thinkers of the
Reformation. He helped translate the Bible into French.
Europe: predominant religions in the mid-16th century

As the Reformation spread, the movement split into factions.


These groups shared some beliefs and differed in others. Some
Protestants, for instance, believed that priests should be allowed
to marry. Some believed that people should wait until adulthood
to be baptized. Some supported the separation of church and
state. Many wanted to read the Bible in the language they spoke
at home instead of in Latin.
In 1618 the Thirty Years’ War began. Much of Europe became
involved in a struggle largely between Roman Catholic,
Calvinist, and Lutheran powers. The war eventually cost about
eight million lives. It also redrew the map of Europe.
Protestant faiths became a third major branch of Christianity,
along with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Today
nearly 1.1 billion people are Catholic, about 260 million are
Eastern Orthodox, and more than 800 million are Protestant.

You might also like