Reformation of the Catholic Church – Flashcards

Humanists questioned the Church's accepted beliefs and ways. Humanists were often non-religious and free-thinking. They also often questioned many accepted beliefs like including the ones of the Catholic Church.

People were very disturbed by the fact that they could buy forgiveness from the Church instead of receiving it from God.

The definition of "simony" is the selling and buying of positions in the Catholic Church

Someone who doesn't have very many accomplishments and a low merit but uses money and wealthy to get a Church office or leading positions.

The Church's political and economic power presented monarchs with a problem because the Church claimed that its clergy were independent of political ruler's control.

One pope was located in Rome and the other pope was located in Avignon.

The Great Schism weakened the Catholic Church because for the next 40 years, lines of popes declared each other as impostors, people didn't know who to believe, and lessened people's respect for the papacy.

Some of the beliefs of the early Catholic reformers were that the Church should be purified, the Church's teachings should be questioned, and people should see the Bible for themselves and interpret it in their own way.

Some reformers believed that the only source of religious authority was the Bible, not the Church.

Jan Hus thought worship should be in the language of the people so that people who attended the Mass could read the Bible and it also would allow common people to read the Bible too. The Catholic Church, however, thought that worship should be in Latin.

Catherine of Sienna helped prepare Europe for the Reformation by emphasizing/showing that a person could have a personal experience with God more than formal observance of the Church practices, spending many long hours praying, and writing many letters about spiritual life.

The first Protestants were protesting against multiple things including the authority of the pope, the Church's teachings, but mainly the corruption and abuses in the Church.

Martin Luther did not believe that people could gain salvation. Instead, he believed that salvation was a gift from God that people could earn in faith. People were saved by their faith, not by doing good works. Martin Luther believed that people could gain salvation by simply having faith.

Martin Luther nailed the famous document, the Ninety-Five Theses, to a church door. The Ninety-Five These was a list of ninety-five things that the Church was doing wrong.

The Peace of Augsburg was important because it was a major win for Protestantism, the Christian unity was at it's end in much of Europe.

The printing press helped spread the new ideas and translations of the Bible faster than ever before.

John Calvin taught that business success was a sign of God's grace.