Catholics and Protestants
In 1500, many people were unhappy with the Catholic Church.
They thought that its leaders were only interested in wealth and power, and complained that many of its priests were badly educated and lazy.
A few determined people protested about the Church. At first, they tried to reform or improve it, but later they broke away completely.
Their followers became known as Protestants, and the movement they started was called the Reformation.
Luther’s protest In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther wrote a list of 95 ways that the Catholic Church could be reformated. He nailed the list to the chuch door in Wittenberg, and his ideas spread.
This made the Church leaders furious, and in 1520, the Pope issued a document that banished Luther from the Catholic Church forever.
Luther went into hiding and worked on his ideas for how the Church should be run: • Church services should be simple • People could read the Bible by themselves
Luther translated the Bible into German. After that, people in North Germany held simple services. The Lutheran Church was born.
John Calvin John Calvin was a French reformer that started the Calvinist Church in Geneva.
Calvinism is a strict form of Protestantism. It was very popular in Switzerland, Scotland and the Netherlands.
Henry’s rebellion King Henry VIII of England argued with the Pope because he refused to allow Henry to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon.
In 1531, Henry decided to take the place of the Pope, and make himself head of the Church in England, which later became known as the Anglican Church.
The Six Henry VIII’s Wives:
Catholics fight back The leaders of the Catholic Church tried hard to win people back to their Church. The Pope called for a council in Trent.
In the Council of Trent, they made many changes, which together became known as the Counter Reformation:
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Colleges for priests were set up. Churches were decorated The Jesuits spread the Catholic message all over the world. Inquisition was used to attack Protestants
Religious Wars During the 16th century, Protestants and Catholics fought each other all over Europe.
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Thousands of French Protestants (Huguenots) were killed by the Catholics in France (St. Bartolomew’s Day Massacre).
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A war between Dutch (Protestants) and Spanish (Catholics) broke out in the Netherlands.
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King Felipe II of Spain (Catholic) sent the Great Armada to conquer England (Protestant) although it failed.