Protestant Reformation

4.1 Background — Why Reformation?

The Catholic Church by the 15th century faced profound criticisms from across Europe. The main grievances were:

• Sale of Indulgences: Church sold certificates promising remission of sins (including sins of the dead in purgatory) in exchange for money — funded by the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
• Simony: Buying and selling of Church offices
• Nepotism: Popes appointed relatives to high positions
• Absenteeism and Pluralism: Clergy held multiple benefices without residing in parishes
• Ignorance of clergy: Many priests had minimal theological education
• Renaissance Popes: Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), Julius II wore armour on the battlefield — behaviour considered scandalously un-Christian
• Political resentment in Germany: German princes resented papal taxes draining wealth to Rome

The printing press was decisive. Reformation pamphlets, Bible translations, and theological arguments could spread across Europe in weeks — something impossible in the pre-print era.

4.2 Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation

Background

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was born in Eisleben, Saxony. He trained as a lawyer but entered an Augustinian monastery after a near-death experience in a thunderstorm. He became Professor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg in 1511.

The 95 Theses (31 October 1517)

Luther posted his Disputatio pro Declaratione Virtutis Indulgentiarum (95 propositions disputing indulgences) on the door of the Castle Church, Wittenberg — a standard academic practice for inviting debate. The theses were printed and spread across Germany within weeks, making Luther a celebrity overnight.

Key Theological Claims

• Sola Fide: Salvation by faith alone, not by works (including buying indulgences)
• Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is the supreme authority (not Pope, not Church councils)
• Universal Priesthood of All Believers (PYQ 2023): Every Christian has direct access to God without priestly mediation; every believer is his/her own priest

Excommunication and Protection (1521)

Pope Leo X issued a papal bull of excommunication (Exsurge Domine) in 1520. Luther publicly burned it. At the Diet of Worms (1521) he refused to recant. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V declared him an outlaw. Frederick the Wise of Saxony provided Luther refuge in Wartburg Castle, where he translated the New Testament into German (1522) — making the Bible accessible to ordinary Germans.

Peasants' War (1524–25)

German peasants interpreted Luther's ideas as endorsing social equality and revolted against serfdom. Luther sided with the princes in suppressing the revolt, revealing the conservative limits of his revolution.

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

The stalemate between Catholic and Lutheran princes led to the principle cuius regio, eius religio — each ruler's religion determined his territory's religion. Calvinism was not included.

Thirty Years' War (1618–48) and Westphalia

Religious conflict in Germany escalated into the catastrophic Thirty Years' War — involving most European powers and killing one-third of Germany's population. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended it: extended the Augsburg principle to Calvinism, established territorial sovereignty as the basis of international order — founding modern international law.

4.3 John Calvin and Calvinism

Background

John Calvin (1509–64) was born in Noyon, France and trained as a lawyer. He converted to Protestantism around 1533. His Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536, revised 1559) is the most systematic exposition of Protestant theology.

Calvinist Theology

• Double Predestination: God has eternally decreed who will be saved (the "elect") and who will be damned — not based on foreseen faith or works, but purely on divine will
• Absolute Sovereignty of God: God's glory is the supreme purpose of existence
• Church Discipline: Strict moral code; the Geneva City Council enforced Calvin's rules (no dancing, gambling; heresy punished — Michael Servetus burned at the stake, 1553)
• Work Ethic: Max Weber argued in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) that Calvinist emphasis on worldly calling and discipline created the psychological framework for capitalist accumulation

Geographic Spread

• France → Huguenots (Calvinist Protestants)
• Netherlands → Dutch Reformed Church (foundation of Dutch Republic)
• Scotland → Presbyterianism (John Knox)
• England → Puritans (English Civil War; Pilgrim Fathers to America)

4.4 Other Reformation Streams

Zwingli (1484–1531)

Swiss Reformer in Zürich; agreed with Luther on Scripture but disagreed on the Eucharist (he held that communion bread is symbolic, not Christ's body). He died in battle against Catholic cantons.

English Reformation

Henry VIII broke from Rome in 1534 for political reasons (annulment of marriage). The Act of Supremacy (1534) made the King the Supreme Head of the Church of England — the Anglican Church. Subsequent monarchs alternated: Edward VI introduced Protestant liturgy (Book of Common Prayer, 1549); Mary I restored Catholicism; Elizabeth I established the Elizabethan Settlement (1559) — creating the via media (middle way) Anglican Church.

Anabaptists

Radical reformers who insisted on adult (re-)baptism and complete separation of church and state. They were pacifist and persecuted by both Catholics and mainstream Protestants. They are the ancestors of Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites.

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