Martin Luther

Protestant Reformation
The term Protestant comes from the protest of the Catholic Church. People who
wanted reform were labeled protestants.
The initial protestants had no intention of
breaking with the Church
they merely wanted reform
M
(hence, reformation). But the REFOR
!!
Church initially resisted
NOW
these reforms, and excommunicated the reformers
forcing them to form their
own churches.
95 Theses
The 95 Theses were a list of 95 issues
that Luther had with the Church.
He pointed out some of the obvious corrupt
practices of the Church the sale of
indulgences, for example. But, he
also had doctrinal (fundamental 95 Theses
belief) issues with the Church.
These were the more serious, and
more dangerous challenges.
One of the doctrinal issues he
had was with the Churchs declaration that
good works was an integral part of
salvation. Luther argued that faith alone,
not any amount of good deeds or works
could save a man.
Another major issue Luther had was that
he argued that man could achieve a
personal relationship with God without
the assistance of a priest. This relationship
could be achieved through direct prayer and
through a reading of the scriptures. Thus,
Luther, like Wycliffe before him, also
advocated translation of the Bible into the
vernacular (common language).

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Who was Luther?

Martin Luther was a Catholic monk living
in Germany in the 1500s. He became
increasingly upset with the
sale of indulgences by the
German priest Johann Tetzel.
He felt that if a person could,
in essence, purchase salvation,
what was the purpose of
faith? He also challenged that if a person
could earn his salvation through good
works, then what purpose did faith serve?
He felt that the Catholic Church had
become corrupt, and that God had called
him to point out these corruptions.
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted
his 95 Theses (or 95 complaints against the
Catholic Church) on the door of Wittenberg
Cathedral, thus starting the Protestant
Reformation.
The Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms was not a new way to
lose weight! A Diet, in this case, refers to a
congress or assembly, and it met in the
German city of Worms.
The assembly included the Holy Roman
Emperor, Charles V and a council of Church
elders. Luther had to explain his views. He
had already been excommunicated from the
Church, and now he had to answer to the
highest political authority in Europe.
When asked to retract his
views, Luther responded, I
cannot and will not recant
anything, for to go against
conscience is neither right
nor safe Here I stand; I can
do no other. God help me.

Global History
Martin Luther
1. Where did the term Protestant Reformation come from?

Name _____________________________________
6. What were the 95 Theses?

7. What practice of the Church was criticized? What doctrine of the Church was
criticized?
2. What did early protesters want? What
did they receive?
8. Why did Luther advocate a translation of
the Bible into the vernacular?
3. Who was Martin Luther? Why was he upset with the Church?

9. What was the Diet of Worms?

4. How did Luther believe the Church was
violating the importance of faith?
10. Why was Luther called to appear before
the Diet?

5. What did Luther feel led by God to do?

(And what did he do?)

11. What was Luther asked to do? What was

his response?

The Reformation Gains Momentum

Impact of the Printing Press
So, why was Luthers challenge to the
Church successful when so many earlier
attempts were not? There are two reasons,
one political, and one technological.
First of all, politically speaking, Germany
was not a united nation ruled over by one
King it was full of states,
or principalities that were
each governed by separate
Princes. Many of these
Princes supported Luther
because they wished to rid themselves of
the authority of the Pope and the Holy
Roman Emperor. As Protestants, they would
no longer be subject to the power of the
papacy. These Princes helped to hide and
protect Luther from the wrath of the
Church.
Secondly, the printing press
had been invented by
Johann Gutenberg in
Germany in the early 1400s.
By the early 1500s, there
were more printing presses
in the German states, than in any other area
of Europe. Coupled with the Chinese
invention of paper, printed material had
become cheap to produce. Literacy rates
rose as printed material became more
available and more affordable.
Luthers 95 Theses were printed and
distributed throughout Germany and
Europe. His ideas and his story spread
quickly. Many agreed with Luthers
criticisms of the Church, others were
interested to see how the Church would
handle things. In essence, Luther had
become too famous for the Church to burn.

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John Calvin
Luthers challenge seemed to open the
floodgates. Other reformers began to crop
up throughout Northern Europe. A Swiss
Reformer, John Calvin was
more extreme than Luther.
Notably, Calvin believed in
predestination, the idea that
God had chosen a group of
people to be saved. Thus, he
had pre-determined or predestined who would be saved.
Calvin emphasized the importance of
working hard to show that you were among
the chosen group. This emphasis on hard
work was later labeled the Protestant Work
Ethic by sociologists.
Followers of Calvinism had different names
in different countries they were Huguenots
in France, Presbyterians in Scotland, and
Puritans in England.
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIIIs reasons for breaking with the
Catholic Church were less than spiritual. In
essence, he wanted a divorce from his first
wife (who was too old to have any more
children) so that he could marry a younger
wife and have a son to succeed him.
Pope Clement VII refused to
grant this annulment
because Henrys wife was
the aunt of the Holy Roman
Emperor!
Henry was furious, and
broke with the Catholic Church and formed
the Church of England (or Anglican Church).
In this church, the monarch was the head.
He promptly granted himself a divorce.

Global History
The Reformation Gains Momentum

Name _____________________________________

1. Why were many German princes willing to 6. Explain Calvins idea of predestination.
support Luther and his ideas?

7. How did the Protestant Work Ethic

evolve out of Calvins ideas?
2. Who invented the printing press? When &
Where?

3. What was the literary impact of the German printing press?

8. What were the names of Calvinists in different countries?

9. Why did Henry VIII of England break with

the Catholic Church?
4. How did the printing press impact the Reformation and allow Luther to survive?
10. Why did the Pope refuse to grant Henry a
divorce (or annulment)?

5. Where was John Calvin from?

11. How did Henry accomplish his purpose?