determining Christian doctrine and that the Bible should be translated into vernacular language so that everyone could read it. However, because of these calls for change, significant and permanent divisions occurred within the Christian Church. Martin Luther was a German Catholic monk and a professor at the University of Wittenberg. Luther believed that some Church teachings were not supported by the Bible. He disagreed with the Church’s practices of selling indulgences (reduced punishments) and positions of authority in the Church. He was also angry that many priests, who had taken vows of chastity , lived openly in sexual relationships. Martin Luther believed that the Bible was the ultimate source of Christian teaching. He translated the Bible from Latin, Hebrew and ancient Greek into German. The project took him many years and the German New Testament was published in 1522. A complete translation was published in 1534. Many copies of the Bible were sold thanks to the recently invented printing press. This made the Bible accessible to many people who had never read it before. In 1517, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. His arguments included the following ideas: • Popes, bishops and priests were not superior to other Christians. • Christians did not need priests to relate to God. • Indulgences were a corrupt practice because only God could decide on punishments for sins. • Priests should be permitted to marry. • People were not saved (able to enter heaven) by following Church practices. • People could achieve salvation only through faith in Jesus Christ. 5.10.2 New forms of Protestantism Other forms of Protestantism soon appeared. In Switzerland, John Calvin formed a church that replaced bishops and priests with elected ministers. Calvinists believed that only some people were chosen to be saved. Calvinism spread into parts of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland. Among other Protestants were the Anabaptists, who rejected the practice of baptising infants, preferring for individuals to make an informed decision about their faith as an adult. The Church of England was formed initially because the Pope would not grant England’s King Henry VIII a divorce. Henry declared that he, not the Pope, was head of the English Church and in 1534 the Church of England became separate to the Roman Catholic Church. 5.10.3 The Counter-Reformation From the late sixteenth century, the Catholic Church attempted to reform itself by stamping out corruption and promoting Catholic beliefs. This movement was called the Counter-Reformation. The Church began this process at the Council of Trent, 1545 to 1563. Among Catholicism’s most effective defenders was the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It was formed in 1534 to convert heretics and non-believers. Jesuit priests set up missions, schools and colleges in Africa and Asia. In the New World, they befriended and converted many Native Americans. 5.10.4 Wars of religion Religious uprisings and wars raged across Europe for over a century. In Germany, under the Peace of Augsburg (1555), it was agreed that each ruler had the right to decide the religion of his subjects. However, in 1618, the Thirty Years’ War began. It was partly about religion and partly a struggle for power between rival rulers. It spread over much of Europe but was worst in Germany, where a third of the population was wiped out.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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