REFORMATIONS

Challenges to the Hegemony of Roman Catholic Church

• 12th C: Cathar Heresy – countered by Crusade against Cathars• 13th C: Establishment of the Inquisition (1233): court established to stamp out

heresy• 14th C:

• John Wyclif (1328-84): first English Bible: Lollard Movement• Jan Hus (1369-1415): launched religious movement in Bohemia based on

Wyclif’s ideas: Hussites Excommunicated and burned at the stake.

• Avignon Papacy 1305-1378• Papal Schism 1378-1418

• 15th C: • William Tyndale (1484-1536): first printed English Bible • Rise of nation-states – breakdown of medieval centralization under Church

and Pope• 16th C: Humanist reaction against Church corruption

Weaknesses in Roman Catholic Church

• Administrative divisions: competing Popes• Proliferation of questionable rituals

• Pilgrimages• Saint worship• Endowment of masses

• Corruption• Sale of Indulgences – certificates of remission from

Purgatory• Simony – sale of Church offices

Northern Renaissance

• Rise of Middle Class that patronized the arts and valued education

• Christian Humanism• Interest in classical humanism• Renewal of spiritual values and teachings of

early Church Fathers• Criticism of Church corruption and

materialism

Devotio Moderna: The Brethren of the Common Life

• Movement founded by Geert Groote (1340-84) that emphasized meditation and the inner life

• Two types of communities arose:• The Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life: lay communities that

devoted themselves to religious exercises, the search for personal perfection, work, and service to others. They have been described as practical mystics.

• The Congregations of Windesheim, a center for monastic reform, emphasized a deep and personal religious experience and faith, combined with learning, especially in the fields of Biblical and patristic study.

• Imitation of Christ, attributed to Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471: second most widely published book in the West until Modern times

Northern Humanist Literature: Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)

• Dutch Humanist• Educated in the Brothers of the Common Life and

Augustinian college at Stein• Travelled widely throughout Europe• 1511: The Praise of Folly – satire on the follies of

mankind, especially Scholastic theologians and church dignitaries: dedicated to Sir Thomas More

• 1516: Annotated Greek New Testament

Northern Humanist Literature:Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)

• English lawyer, politician and Chancellor to Henry VIII• Helped Henry VIII in writing his Defence of the Seven

Sacraments, a repudiation of Luther.• 1516: Utopia: description of an ideal state in contrast to the

current hypocritical Christian society.• Opposed Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and the

establishment of the Church of England: refused to swear to the Act of Supremacy and Oath of Supremacy.

• Convicted of treason and beheaded: "The King's good servant, but God's First."

Northern Humanist Literature:François Rabelais (ca.1484-ca.1553)

• French Franciscan/Benedictine monk, humanist and physician

• Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532-64): a series of 5 books recounting the stories of two giants traveling in a world full of greed, stupidity, violence, and grotesque jokes.

• Banned by the Catholic Church and later placed on The Index librorum prohibitorumon (the Index of Forbidden Books).

The Printing Press

• Although printing with movable type had existed in East Asia since at least the 700's, the invention had not spread to Europe.

• About 1440, the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg developed movable type.

• Printing soon became the first means of mass communication. It put more knowledge in the hands of more people faster and more cheaply than ever before. As a result, reading and writing spread widely and rapidly.

Lutheran ReformationMartin Luther (1483-1546)

• Augustinian monk and Biblical scholar• 1517: Nailed 95 Theses on Church door at

Wittenberg: particularly incensed by selling of indulgences

• German translation of Bible • “Justification by faith alone” and “The

Priesthood of all believers”

Lutheran ReformationMartin Luther (1483-1546)

• Two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion• Consubstantiation rather than Transubstantiation

• Advocated universal education• Wrote hymns: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”• Supported by bourgeoisie, merchants, German

princes• Countered Peasants’ Revolt

Lutheran Reformation: Music• Luther saw music as a form of religious instruction• Hymnals: collections of religious songs• Professional and congregational singing in vernacular

languages• Chorale: congregational hymn – communal

expression of devotion• “Ein feste Burg is unser Gott” : “A Mighty Fortress is

Our God” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiRpUtVByxU

Albrecht Dürer1471-1528

• Portraits, landscapes, naturalistic studies, religious meditations

• Woodcut engravings• Mass produced

images• Illustrated books• Available to wide

population

Political ReformationHenry VIII (1491-1547)

• Proclaimed “Defender of the Faith” by Pope Clement VII when he countered Luther’s arguments

• Sought divorce from Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn: refused by Pope

• 1534: Act of Supremacy: declared the king as head of Church of England – Anglican Church

• Ordered dissolution of monasteries: transfer of property to crown; iconoclasm

Henry VIII 1509-1547

Edward VI 1547-1553 Lady Jane

Grey1553-1553 Mary I

1553-1558 Elizabeth I 1558-1603

Reformed Churches: Calvinism• Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)

• Swiss Humanist scholar• Salvation by grace and works• Baptism as a covenant/contract

• John Calvin (1509-64) • French Doctor of Law• Refuted RC opposition to usury: work ethic and capitalism• 1536: Institutes of Christian Religion• Predestination: the elect and the damned• TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible

grace, Preservation of Saints• Established theocratic state in Geneva, Switzerland

• Church governance: presbyterian, synodal, congregationalist• Huguenots, Puritans, Presbyterians

John Knox Scottish (1505-72) Presbyterianism

• Originally ordained a Roman Catholic priest, Knox became a Protestant and studied with Calvin in Switzerland.

• On his return to Scotland, he became the leader of the Scottish Reformed Church

• Knox and his supporters began to reshape the Scottish church--theologically and politically. 

Scottish Presbyterianism• Knox took the idea of representative government characteristic of

Calvin's reformed churches (communities lead by elected elders or "presbyters"), and applied it locally, regionally and nationally in total reversal of the top-down or hierarchical fashion of Catholic or "episcopalian" government. 

• Thus local councils ("Presbyteries"), regional councils ("Synods") and national councils ("General Assemblies") were made up of representatives of the people. 

• Thus was born "Presbyterian" or representative church government--one source of inspiration for the new democratic forms of government that led eventually to the U.S. Constitution of 1789.

Radical Reformation: Anabaptists

• Rejected all sacraments as sources of God’s grace: total emphasis on Christian conscience and voluntary acceptance of Christ

• Adult baptism: rebaptism – considered heretical by other Protestants

• The Mass is not a sacrifice but a memorial – restricted to baptized believers

• Pacifist• Anti-secular: religious separation from secular world• Shunning of sinners

Radical Reformation: Anabaptists• Appealed to lower classes and peasants: Peasants Wars 1525-

35

• Persecuted by both Catholics and Protestants – often burned at stake

• Freedom of religion: priesthood of all believers, Bible as sole authority, ordinances rather than sacraments, separation of church and state

• Amish, Hutterites, Waldensians, Mennonites, Quakers, Baptists, 7th Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses

• Genealogy: Baptism and Confirmation Registries

Anglican

Europe, c. 1560

Catholic Counter-Reformation

• Council of Trent (1545-63)• Called for moral reform of clergy• Strengthened Church structures and institutions• Proclamation of dogmas

• Affirmation of both Faith and Works• Transubstantiation

• Establishment of Society of Jesus (Jesuits) under Ignatius Loyola

• Vigorous missionary work in Americas and Asia• Revitalization of religious art: Baroque

Counter-Rerformation Art

The zeal of the Counter-Reformation inspired a new, more dramatic and emotional artistic expression in Mannerist and Baroque artists.

Bernini, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa

Reformation Repercussions• Rivalry between Spain and England

• 1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada• Religious wars in France (1560-98)• The Thirty Years War (1618-48)• Revival of the Inquisition’s persecution of heretics• “The Burning Times” -- Witch-hunts (1550-1750)• Religious Persecution• Migration to the New World for religious freedom

• French Huguenots to Florida – driven out by Spanish• Puritans to New England• Quakers and Amish to Pennsylvania• Roman Catholics to Maryland

Deism• Natural theology: Derives the existence of God from reason and personal experience rather than divine revelation or scripture

• Cultural influences:• Reaction against sectarian

violence in Europe• Growing knowledge of diverse

religious beliefs both classical and contemporary

• Textual study of Biblical scriptures

• Advances in scientific knowledge – Bible could not be seen as authoritative for matters of science

• Skepticism about miracles and books that report them

• “Watchmaker God”• Unitarianism

William Blake

Treaty of Westphalia, 1848