Protestant Reformation
Dissatisfaction with the Church
 Catholic Church was financially corrupt, abused its
power, and immoral
 Church forced peasants to pay heavy taxes
 Indulgences: pardons issued by the pope, people
could buy them to reduce their time in purgatory.
Martin Luther
 Made his complaints about the church public in 1517 
Official start of the Protestant Reformation
 95 Theses
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Written in academic Latin
Nailed to church door
Published for all of Europe to see
Desire for reform grew
Martin Luther Cont.
 In 1520, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther
 In 1521, the Holy Roman Emperor handed down the
Edict of Worms
 Declared Luther an outlaw and condemned his writings
 In 1530, Lutheranism was a recognized denomination
of Christianity
Spread of Protestantism
 Protestantism was spreading across Europe
 Switzerland, France, Scotland and England
 Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and John Knox are among
the preachers who protested the Catholic Church
 King Henry VIII started the reformation in England
King Henry VIII
 Henry’s wife Catherine only had one child, a daughter
 Wanted an annulment so he could remarry
 Pope wouldn’t agree  Henry split England from the Catholic
Church
 Henry became the “Supreme Head of the Church of
England”
 6 wives, 3 children
 Mary
 Elizabeth
 Edward VI