Chapter 14 - Summary & Outline
Chapter 14 - Summary & Outline
Chapter 14 - Summary & Outline
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading and studying this chapter you should be able to:
1. discuss why the theological ideas of Martin Luther triggered political, social, and economic reactions.
2. explain Protestantism’s impact on western society. Do the reform movements represent revolution or
continuity?
3. list the theological tenets and the contributions of Luther, Calvin, and Knox.
4. explain how the Catholic church withstood the onslaught of Protestantism.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
A great religious upheaval called the Protestant Reformation ended the centuries-long religious unity of Europe
and resulted in a number of important political changes. In the sixteenth century, cries for reform were nothing
new, but this time they resulted in revolution. There were a number of signs of disorder within the church,
pointing to the need for moral and administrative reform. For example, it was the granting of indulgences that
propelled Martin Luther into the movement for doctrinal change in the church. Luther had come to the
conclusion that salvation could not come by good works or indulgences, but only through faith. This was to be
one of the fundamental tenets of Protestantism and one of the ideas that pushed Luther and the German
nobility to revolt against not only Rome but Rome’s secular ally, the Holy Roman Emperor.
One of reason Catholic France usually supported the German Protestants in their quarrel with Rome.
Outside of Germany the Protestant reformer Calvin had a greater impact on Europe than Luther. Calvin’s
harsh and dogmatic religion spread from Geneva into northern Europe, England, and Scotland. It was England,
in fact, that eventually became the political center of Protestantism. Initiated by Henry VIII, the English
Protestant Reformation was at first motivated by the personal and political interests of the king himself. The
type of Protestantism eventually adopted by the Church of England was much more moderate-and closer to
Catholicism-than that of Scotland.
With the Council of Trent of 1545-1563, the Catholic church, finding the Habsburgs unable to destroy the
heretical Protestantism, launched a massive and partly successful Counter Reformation to convince dissidents
to return to the church.
All in all, Protestantism developed and spread for economic and political reasons as well as religious ones. In the
end, Protestantism meant greater spiritual freedom for some individuals, but spiritual disunity and
disorganization for Europe as a whole. In England, Scotland, the Scandinavian countries, and elsewhere, it
contributed to the power of the nation and thus meant a further political division of Europe, while in Germany
it slowed down the movement toward nationhood. The main points of the chapter is that Luther’s theological
ideas triggered political social, and economic reactions. It is important to recognize that Luther’s challenge to
the authority of the church and to Catholic unity in Europe invited and supported an attack on the emperor by
the German nobility. The pope and the emperor, as separate powers and allies, represented religious and
political unity and conformity in Germany. Thus, the victory of Luther and the nobility was a victory for
decentralized authority. It meant the collapse of Germany as a unified power in Europe.
STUDY OUTLINE
Use this outline to preview the chapter before you read a particular section in your textbook and then as a self-check to
test your reading comprehension after you have read the chapter section.
I. The condition of the church (ca. 1400-1517)
A. The declining prestige of the church
1. The Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism damaged the church’s prestige.
2. Secular humanists satirized and denounced moral corruption within the church.
B. Signs of disorder in the early sixteenth century
1. The parish clergy brought spiritual help to the people.
2. Critics of the church wanted moral and administrative reform in three areas.
a. Clerical immorality (neglect of celibacy, drunkenness, gambling) created a scandal.
b. The lack of education of the clergy and law standards of ordination were condemned by
Christian humanists.
c. The absenteeism, pluralism (holding of several benefices, or offices), and wealth of the greater
clergy bore little resemblance to the Christian gospel.
3. The prelates and popes of the period, often members of the nobility, lived in splendor and moral
corruption.
C. Signs of vitality in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries
1. Sixteenth-century Europe remained deeply religious, and calls for reform testify to the spiritual
vitality of the church.
2. New organizations were formed to educate and minister to the poor.
a. The Brethren of the Common Life in Holland lived simply and sought to make religion a
personal, inner experience based on following the scriptures.
b. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis urged Christians to seek perfection in a simple way
of life.
3. Pope Julius II summoned an ecumenical council on reform in the church called the Lateran Council
(1512-1527).