West Visayas State University
(Formerly Iloilo Normal School)
LAMBUNAO CAMPUS
College of Education
Social Science Department
Ladrido Street, Poblacion Ilawod, Lambunao, Iloilo, Philippines 5042
* Trunkline: (063) (533) 8053 * Telefax No.: (033) 533-8053
* Website: www.wvsu.edu.ph
* Email Address: lambunao@wvsu.edu.ph
Martin Luther and the Reformation
14th Century
Medieval Ages
15th Century
Renaissance/ Revival of
Arts and Letters
16th Century
Religious
Renaissance
17th Century
Search for Order:
Absolute and Limited Monarchy
Before the Reformation
Church corruption was pervasive
Church was obsessed with finances
Highest position in the church were held by nobles and wealthy families
Relics were sold as indulgences (the penalty of sins). Reduced one’s time in
purgatory.
Causes of the Reformation in Europe
Social
Political
Economic
Religious
The Renaissance
Powerful monarchs European princess
Some Church
values of humanism challenged the
and kings were
leaders were
and secularism led
Church as the
jealous of the
become worldly
people to question
supreme power in Church’s wealth
and corrupt
the church.
Europe
The printing press
Many leaders
Merchants and
Many people found
helped to spread
viewed the Pope
others resented
Church practices
ideas critical of the as the foreign ruler having to pay taxes such as the sale of
church
and challenged his to the Church
indulgences
authority
unacceptable
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German and one of the most important
revolutionaries in terms of Religious History. He was a law student and became a
monk after almost dying in a storm. He focused on how to attain eternal
salvation. While Catholics believe that faith and good works gave a person
eternal salvation, Luther saw that man could never do enough good works.
Fear led Martin Luther to become a monk. At the age of 21, Luther was caught in
a terrible thunderstorm. Convinced he would die, he cried out,”Saint Anne, help
me! I will become a monk.”
Even after entering the monastery, Luther felt fearful, lost, sinful, and rejected by
God. He confessed his sins regularly, fasted, he did penance. However, by
studying the Bible, Martin Luther came to the conclusion that faith alone was the
key to salvation. Only then did he experience peace.
ASC/WORLD HISTORY 2/2024
West Visayas State University
(Formerly Iloilo Normal School)
LAMBUNAO CAMPUS
College of Education
Social Science Department
Ladrido Street, Poblacion Ilawod, Lambunao, Iloilo, Philippines 5042
* Trunkline: (063) (533) 8053 * Telefax No.: (033) 533-8053
* Website: www.wvsu.edu.ph
* Email Address: lambunao@wvsu.edu.ph
Luther’s frustration with the Catholic Church was made public when he nailed
this document to All Saint’s church door in Wittenberg, Germany.
The Ninety Five Theses (1517) was an indictment or a formal charge or accusation
of a serious crime of the abuses of the sale of indulgences.
Primary Pillars of Luther’s Protestant Reformation were:
1. Luther believed that man could only gain salvation through faith.
2. The Bible as the sole religious authority.
Luther Demands Reform
Wrote three (3) pamphlets in 1520 that called for the following reforms:
1. The Pope and Church should not own the gospels and meaning of the
bible.
2. Reform of Monasticism
3. Clergy should be allowed to marry
4. People should do good works out of gratitude to God and not to gain
eternal salvation.
He was ex- communicated/officially banish from their church/expelling or
excluding someone from any kind of group or association in 1521 by Pope Leo X
because he refused to recant his writings.
After three years, Luther clarified and defended his position in numerous
writings. Chief among those writings were the three treatises written in 1520. In this
writings Luther tried to frame his ideas in terms that would be comprehensible not
only to the clergy but to the people with a wide range of backgrounds. The three
Treatises were the following:
1. The Christian Nobility of the German Nation – an attack on the corruption
of the church and the abuses of its authority, bringing to light many of the
underlying reasons for the reformation.
2. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church – contains Luther’s sharp criticism
of the sacramental system of the Catholic church
3. The Freedom of a Christian – gives a concise presentation of Luther’s
position on the doctrine of justification by faith.
Protestant Reformation is the name given to the religious reform movement that
divided the Western Christian Church to Catholic and Protestant Groups.
Religious Beliefs and Practices in the 16th Century
Roman
Lutheranism
Calvinism
Anglicanism
Catholicism
Leadership
Pope is head
Ministers lead Council of
English
of the Church
congregations elders govern
monarch is
each church
head of the
Church
ASC/WORLD HISTORY 2/2024
West Visayas State University
(Formerly Iloilo Normal School)
LAMBUNAO CAMPUS
College of Education
Social Science Department
Ladrido Street, Poblacion Ilawod, Lambunao, Iloilo, Philippines 5042
* Trunkline: (063) (533) 8053 * Telefax No.: (033) 533-8053
* Website: www.wvsu.edu.ph
* Email Address: lambunao@wvsu.edu.ph
Salvation
Salvation by
Salvation by
faith and Good Faith Alone
Works
Bible
Church and
Bible tradition
are sources of
revealed truth
Worship
service based
on ritual
Worship
Service
Interpretation
of Beliefs
Priests
interpret Bible
and Church
teachings for
believers
Bible is the
sole source of
revealed truth
Worship
Service
focused on
preaching and
ritual
Believers
interpret the
bible for
themselves
God has
predetermined
who will be
saved
Bible is the
sole source of
revealed truth
Salvation by
Faith Alone
Worship
Service
focused on
preaching
Worship
Service based
on ritual and
preaching
Believers
interpret the
bible for
themselves
Believers
interpret the
bible using
tradition and
reason
Bible is the
sole source of
revealed truth
HENRY VIII – King of England (1509-1547)
1. He created the church of England as a religious body unique from the Roman
Catholic Church in order to achieve his goal of divorcing his first wife,
Catherne of Aragon, in an attempt to remarry and father sons to continue his
dynasty.
2. He was married to Catherine of Aragon ( Princess of Spain), but she is unable
to bear him a male heir though she does gave birth to a daughter( Marycommonly known later as “ Bloody Mary”)
3. Henry VIII seeks to dissolve marriage, but refuses to pay the Catholic Church
a huge sum for an annulment. Instead he splits with the church and marries
Anne Boleyn who bears him a daughter, Elizabeth I who eventually becomes
queen and reigns for 45 years.
4. The Church of England is a Protestant church that is also known as Anglicsn
church. Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that formed in the early 16th
century as a protest movement against Catholicism. Martin Luther is
considered to be the founder of the Protestant faith.
5. As the Renaissance and Reformation eras end, a new philosophy begins to
emerge from the philosophers of the 18th century.
ASC/WORLD HISTORY 2/2024