Renaissance+Religion


 * Martin Luther Posting Ninety-Five Theses || John Calvin || Henry VIII ||
 * [[image:MartinLutherPostingNinety-FiveTheses-Religion+Church1.jpg align="center"]] || [[image:JohnCalvin-Religion+Church2.jpg align="center"]] || [[image:HenryVIII-Relgion+Church3.jpg align="center"]] ||
 * During the Renaissance, many people believed that the Church was becoming corrupt and wasn’t following Church doctrine. Martin Luther, a German friar, was one of the biggest voices of these people. He wrote up a list of ninety-five complaints for the Church and hung it on one of the Church’s door. On the list of ninety-five complaints was a complaint about indulgences. Indulgences were when the Church sold people so less time in purgatory. Because of this list, Martin Luther was then excommunicated. But, his ideas also spread quickly and influenced more people. When people listened to Martin Luther’s ideas and complaints of the Church, they didn’t buy anymore indulgences. This lost the Church money and power. The people who supported Martin were called Lutherans. Among these Lutherans were German princes. They supported Martin either because they truly believed in his ideas or that they were now able to assume privileges once meant for the Church because of the Reformation. Either way, this gained them political power. || John Calvin was a protestant who started the religion, Calvinism. Predestination was a common belief that God chose who would go to Heaven before they were even born. The government in a Calvinist society would be theocracy; when the Church and state worked together. Calvinist societies were very strict with their rules and punishments. Drunkenness, gambling, superstitions, missing Church, adultery, and heresy were punished with fines, imprisonment, expulsion, torture and execution. According to some people, Calvin-based religions helped stimulate the growth of capitalism because they were hard workers, disciplined, and valued prosperity. Capitalism is when people invest money into a company to make a profit. All in all, Calvinism affected the economy and made a lasting impression on the Renaissance era. || King Henry VIII was a strong Catholic before he married his first wife. Because his wife, Catherine of Aragon, didn’t produce a boy, Henry VIII wanted to annul his marriage. When Pope Clement VII refused, Henry was enraged. He then decided to break away from the Catholic Church and make himself a protestant and head of the new Church of England. He was then able to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. Being the head of the new Church of England gave Henry the right to take the wealth and land from monasteries. This got him more money and increased his prestige as a patron ||
 * -Martin Luther Posting Ninety-Five Theses. N.d. //ABC-CLIO: World History: The// //Modern Era//. Web. 24 May 2010. || -John Calvin. N.d. //ABC-CLIO: World History: The Modern Era//. Web. 31 May 2010. || -Henry VIII. N.d. //ABC-CLIO: World History: The Modern Era//. Web. 31 May 2010. ||