Essential Question:
What factors lead to the weakening of the Catholic Church and the beginning of the Reformation?
Your project needs to encompass an explanation of the factors that lead to the weakening of the Catholic Church and the beginning of the Reformation? | |
Required Reading
The movement begun by Martin Luther swept across much of Europe. Many people who were dismayed by abuses in the Church remained loyal Catholics. Others, however, were attracted to new forms of the Christian faith. The printing press helped spread new ideas, as well as translations of the Bible, faster than ever before. In addition, government leaders had learned from Luther’s experience that they could win religious independence from the Church. The Reformation succeeded most where rulers embraced Protestant faiths.
Many reformers contributed to the spread of Protestantism. Let’s take a look at four leaders of the Reformation.
Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1530) Huldrych Zwingli (HUL-drick ZVING-lee) was a Catholic priest in Zurich, Switzerland. Zwingli was influenced by both Erasmus and Luther. After reading Luther’s work, he persuaded the local government to ban any form of worship that was not based on the Bible. In 1523, Zurich declared its independence from the authority of the local Catholic bishop.
Zwingli wanted Christians to focus solely on the Bible. He attacked the worship of relics, saints, and images. In the Protestant churches he founded, there were no religious statues or paintings. Services were very simple, without music or singing.
Zwingli carried his ideas to other Swiss cities. In 1530, war broke out between his followers and Swiss Catholics. Zwingli died during the fighting.
John Calvin (1509–1564) In the late 1530s, John Calvin, a French humanist, started another Protestant group in Geneva, Switzerland. His book, Institutes of the Christian Religion, became one of the most influential works of the Reformation.
Calvin emphasized that salvation came only from God’s grace. He said that the “saved” whom God elected, or chose, lived according to strict standards. He believed firmly in hard work and thrift, or the careful use of money. Success in business, he taught, was a sign of God’s grace. Calvin tried to establish a Christian state in Geneva that would be ruled by God through the Calvinist Church.
Calvin influenced many other reformers. One of them was John Knox, a Scotsman who lived in Geneva for a time. Knox led the Protestant reform that established the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.
King Henry VIII (1491–1547) England’s Protestant Reformation was led by King Henry VIII. In 1534, Henry formed the Church of England, also called the Anglican Church. Henry named himself as its supreme head.
Unlike Luther and Calvin, King Henry did not have major disagreements with Catholic teachings. His reasons for breaking with the Church were personal and political. On a personal level, he wanted to end his first marriage, but the pope had denied him a divorce. On a political level, he no longer wanted to share power and wealth with the Church. In 1536, Henry closed down Catholic monasteries in England and took their riches.
William Tyndale (About 1491–1536) William Tyndale was an English priest, scholar, and writer. Tyndale traveled to Germany and met Martin Luther. His views became more and more Protestant. He attacked corruption in the Catholic Church and defended the English Reformation. After being arrested by Catholic authorities in the city of Antwerp, in present-day Belgium, he spent over a year in prison. In 1536, he was burned at the stake.
Tyndale is especially important to the Reformation because of his translations of the Bible. To spread knowledge of the Bible, he translated the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament into English. In the early 1600s, his work was used in the preparation of the King James, or Authorized, Version of the Bible. Famed for its beautiful language, the King James Bible had an enormous influence on English worship, language, and literature.
Many reformers contributed to the spread of Protestantism. Let’s take a look at four leaders of the Reformation.
Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1530) Huldrych Zwingli (HUL-drick ZVING-lee) was a Catholic priest in Zurich, Switzerland. Zwingli was influenced by both Erasmus and Luther. After reading Luther’s work, he persuaded the local government to ban any form of worship that was not based on the Bible. In 1523, Zurich declared its independence from the authority of the local Catholic bishop.
Zwingli wanted Christians to focus solely on the Bible. He attacked the worship of relics, saints, and images. In the Protestant churches he founded, there were no religious statues or paintings. Services were very simple, without music or singing.
Zwingli carried his ideas to other Swiss cities. In 1530, war broke out between his followers and Swiss Catholics. Zwingli died during the fighting.
John Calvin (1509–1564) In the late 1530s, John Calvin, a French humanist, started another Protestant group in Geneva, Switzerland. His book, Institutes of the Christian Religion, became one of the most influential works of the Reformation.
Calvin emphasized that salvation came only from God’s grace. He said that the “saved” whom God elected, or chose, lived according to strict standards. He believed firmly in hard work and thrift, or the careful use of money. Success in business, he taught, was a sign of God’s grace. Calvin tried to establish a Christian state in Geneva that would be ruled by God through the Calvinist Church.
Calvin influenced many other reformers. One of them was John Knox, a Scotsman who lived in Geneva for a time. Knox led the Protestant reform that established the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.
King Henry VIII (1491–1547) England’s Protestant Reformation was led by King Henry VIII. In 1534, Henry formed the Church of England, also called the Anglican Church. Henry named himself as its supreme head.
Unlike Luther and Calvin, King Henry did not have major disagreements with Catholic teachings. His reasons for breaking with the Church were personal and political. On a personal level, he wanted to end his first marriage, but the pope had denied him a divorce. On a political level, he no longer wanted to share power and wealth with the Church. In 1536, Henry closed down Catholic monasteries in England and took their riches.
William Tyndale (About 1491–1536) William Tyndale was an English priest, scholar, and writer. Tyndale traveled to Germany and met Martin Luther. His views became more and more Protestant. He attacked corruption in the Catholic Church and defended the English Reformation. After being arrested by Catholic authorities in the city of Antwerp, in present-day Belgium, he spent over a year in prison. In 1536, he was burned at the stake.
Tyndale is especially important to the Reformation because of his translations of the Bible. To spread knowledge of the Bible, he translated the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament into English. In the early 1600s, his work was used in the preparation of the King James, or Authorized, Version of the Bible. Famed for its beautiful language, the King James Bible had an enormous influence on English worship, language, and literature.
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Paper Expectations:
As you write this paragraph, please think about each of the four reformers mentioned in the reading. Remember to describe what they did that led to the "WEAKENING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH" and use an online source to to support each reformers actions.
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