The Reformation Continues

1. The Reformation Continues

2. John Calvin and the Protestant Church Calvin taught that men and women are sinful by nature. He believed God chooses very few people to save. He called these few the “elect.” He believed in predestination. This means God has known since the beginning of time who will be saved. The religion based on Calvin’s teachings is called Calvinism.

3. Calvin runs Geneva • Calvin believed that the ideal government was a theocracy, a government controlled by religious leaders. • In 1541, Protestants in Geneva, Switzerland, asked Calvin to lead their city. • He ran the city according to strict rules: • Everyone attended religion class. • No one wore bright clothes or played card games. • Authorities would imprison, excommunicated or banish those who broke the rules. • Anyone who preached different doctrines would be burned at the stake.

4. Calvinism spreads A preacher from Scotland named John Knox visited Geneva and brought Calvin’s ideas back to Scotland with him. Each community church was governed by a small group of laymen called presbyters. Followers of John Knox became known as Presbyterians. Calvinism became the official religion of Scotland. Elsewhere, Swiss, Dutch, and French reformers adopted the Calvinist form of church organization. In France, Calvin’s followers were known as Huguenots. Hatred between Huguenots and Catholics frequently led to violence.

5. Other Reformers… As Christians began to interpret the Bible for themselves, new Protestant groups arose. One group was the Anabaptists. This means “baptize again. They believe people who had been baptized as children should be baptized again as adults. They believed the church and state should be separate. They refused to fight in wars and shared their possessions. Catholics and protestants thought Anabaptists were radicals who threatened society and persecuted them.

6. Women of the Reformation… Marguerite of Navarre, the sister of King Francis I, protected John Calvin from being executed for his beliefs while he lived in France. Katherine Zell scolded a minister for speaking harshly of another. Katherina von Bora (Martin Luther’s wife) escaped from a convent where she was working as a nun. She was inspired by Luther’s teaching. After marrying him, she raised six children and supported her husband’s work. She submitted respectfully to her husband and argued with him about woman’s equal role in marriage. Male religious leaders limited women’s activities to the home and discouraged them from being leaders.

7. The Catholic Reformation… Helping Catholics to remain loyal was a movement within the Catholic Church to reform itself. This is known as the Catholic Reformation. Ignatius of Loyola was a great Catholic reformer. He was once injured in a war. During his recovery, he thought about his past sins and about the life of Jesus. In 1522 he began writing a book called Spiritual Exercises that laid out a day-by-day plan of meditation, prayer and study. He gathered many followers. In 1540, the pope made his followers a religious order called the Society of Jesus. Members were called Jesuits.

8. Jesuits concentrated on three activities They founded superb schools throughout Europe. Jesuit teachers were rigorously trained in both classical studies and theology. Their second mission was to convert non-Christians to Catholicism, so they sent out missionaries. Their third goal was to stop Protestantism from spreading.

9. Reforming Popes • Pope Paul III took four important steps toward reforms • He directed a council of cardinals to investigate indulgence selling and other abuses within the church. • He approved the Jesuit order. • He used the Inquisition to find heresy in papal territory. • He called a great council of Church leaders to meet in Trent, Italy.

10. Council of Trent The church’s interpretations of the Bible was final. Christians need faith and good works for salvation. The Bible and Church tradition were equally powerful authorities for guiding Christian life. Indulgences were valid expressions of faith. False selling of indulgences was banned.

11. Another reforming pope Paul IV carried out the council’s decrees. He made a list of books considered dangerous to the Catholic faith. The list was known as the Index of Forbidden Books.

12. Legacy of the Reformation Protestant churches flourished, despite religious wars and persecutions. Religion no longer united Europe. As the Church’s power declined, individual monarchs and state gained power. This paved the way for modern nation-states. The reformer’s successful revolt against Church authority laid the groundwork for a rejection of Christian belief that occurred in western culture in later centuries.