Background to the Protestant Reformation
Problems in the Catholic Church
-Lavish lifestyle of Renaissance Popes
-Popes' obsession with secular rather than spiritual affairs
-Flaunting of vows of celibacy
-Poorly educated clergy
Renaissance Popes -- Line of popes from theend of the GreatSchism to thebeginning of theReformation (1417- 1517). Popes of this era were more concerned withthe growth of theirsecular power than thespiritual needs of theirpeople.
Sixtus IV(1471-1484)
Made five of hisnephews cardinals and gave them an abundance of church offices to build up their finances. The word nepotism is in fact derived from nepos, meaning nephew
Alexander VI (14921503)
The Borgia pope, was known for his debauchery and sensuality. Made cardinals of one son, one nephew, and the brother of one mistress. Scandalized the church in many ways
Julius II (15031513)
Warrior pope, was the most involved in war and politics. Personally led armies against his enemies, much to the disgust of pious Christians
Leo X (1513-1521
Son of Lorenzo d' Medici; Cardinal at 13 and pope at 37, was deeply involved in the Renaissance; Duringhis reign Rome became the literary and artistic center of the Renaissance.
Critics of the Church
Savonarola
Italian friar who preached fiery sermons actually gained control of Florence for 4 years. -Criticism of Pope Alexander VI got him declared a heretic. -Burned at the stake by people of Florence.
Christian Humanism
-Humanist movement that developed in the north with the spread of Italian Renaissance humanism
-Major goal of this movement was the reform of the Catholic Church
-Believed in ability of humans to reason and improve themselves and if humans studied the classics, especially early religious works, this would lead to inner piety and the reform of the Church and society.
Erasmus
-Christian Humanist -Most famous for his work, The Praise of FOlly,which poked fun at various segments of society; most stinging barbs were aimed at the church.
-Wanted to reform church, not break with it
Sir Thomas More
-His book, Utopia,outlined what makes a truly good society
-Later lost his life when he refused toaccept Henry VIII as head of thechurch
In addition to the above, others remained distrustful of the church because of the events that had provoked the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism.
The ideas suggested by .John Wycliffe and .John Huss continued to be discussed by the more educated of Europe.
Fueled by the new ideas of the Renaissance, the teachings of Christian humanists and the development of the printing press, it is not surprising that a permanent break with the Roman Catholic Church occurred
Importance of Printing
One key element in the religious revolution was the development of the printing press because it prepared the way for the religious revolution by
1. allowing many writers to criticize the Renaissance popes.
2. encouraging popular piety
3. making the Bible available to all who could read.
4. allowing new ideas to spread more quickly than ever before.
Religion on the Eve of the Reformation
While many Christians had become disillusioned with the institutional church, interest in Christianity had not declined. People began to take a more active role in their own salvation
Mysticism - immediate experience of oneness with God. This movement, which had its origins in the 14th century, was especially strong along the Rhine River In Germany and in the Low Counties
Meister Eckhart
sparked the mystical movement In western Germany
According to Eckhart those who wholeheartedly pursued a union with God, a "birth of Christ in the soul" was certainly attainable.
Johannes Tauler
-Disciple and student of Eckhart
Significant in channeling German mysticism in a practical direction as an inspiration to inner piety
Sermons promoted mysticism, but stressed the need to prepare the soul for the mystical encounter by expressing the love of God in the ordinary activities of everyday life
Ideas deepened the religious life of clerics and lay folk and connected mysticism to the development of the lay piety that became more visible as Eckhart’s and Tauler’s movement spread from Germany into the Low Countires.
Gerard Groote
-Founder of the Modern Devotion, a new
form of mysticism that became popular in the Low Countries
-Ordained as a deacon, Groote's messages were typical of practical mysticism. To achieve true spiritual communion with God, people must imitate Jesus and lead lives dedicated to serving the needs of their fellow human beings
-Emphasized a simple piety and morality based on scripture and an avoidance of the complexities of theology.
Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life
.Followers of Groote
.Spread throughout the Netherlands and back intoGermany.
.Members were laypeople who took no formal monastic vows, but freely lived by quasi-monastic rules that they imposed upon their communities.
.Established schools in which they stressed their message of imitating the life of .Jesus by serving others.
.Popes feared the movement since it was not closely controlled by the ecclesiastical establishment.
.Noted students - Erasmus and Reuchlin
Thomas a Kempis summarized the philosophy of the brothers in what became the most popular religious book of the period, the Imitation of Christ.
Pending Religious Upheaval Supported by Three Groups
Laboring Poor
Believed thatthe church's bishops and abbots were part of awealthy and oppressive ruling class .Dissatisfaction with the church was mixed up with a dissatisfaction with the whole social order.
From this group would emerged the sects known historically as the Anabaptists
Urban Middle Class
'Wished to manage their own religious affairs as they did their other businesses .Believed that the church hierarchy was too much embedded in a feudal, baronial, and monarchical system with which they had little in common.
From this group would emerge theCalvinist Churches
Kings and Ruling Princes
Had long disputed with thechurch on matters of property, taxes, legal jurisdiction, and political influence. .Wanted to be masters of their own territories..In this group, it was the power of such rulers that determined which form of religion should officially prevail. The Lutheran and Ana/ican churches were in this tradition
By 1600, the Urban Middle Class and the Kings and Ruling Princes had won many successes, but the laboring poor were suppressed.
Socio-religious radicalism was reduced to an undercurrent in countries where Anglican, Lutheran, Calvinist, and Roman Catholic Churches were established.
Let us for a moment put aside the term, "Protestant" and think of the adherents of the new religion as religious revolutionaries. Their ideas were revolutionary because they held, not merely that "abuses" in the church must be corrected, but that the Roman Church itself was wrong in principle. Even so, there were many who hoped, for years, that old and new ideas of the church might be combined. Unfortunately extremists, although smaller in number, were more vocal and more persistent.
Since northern Europe became Protestant while the south remained Catholic, it may look as if the north had broken off in a body from a once solid Roman church. The reality was not so simple.
For over a century the revolutionaries maintained the hope that "popery" would everywhere fall. For over a century the upholders of the old order worked to annihilate or reconvert "heretics." Only slowly did Catholics and Protestants come to accept each other's existence as an established fact of European society. Though the religious frontier that was to prove permanent appeared as early as 1560, it was not generally accepted until after a hundred years of religious warfare.
Acceptance of a religiously diverse Europe came with the end ofthe 30 Years' War in 1648.