The Protestant Reformation

Name: ___________________
The questioning spirit of the Renaissance led to a questioning of the actions of the Roman Catholic Church.
These questions led to new challenges to the Popes authority in the early 1500s.
Martin Luther was a Catholic monk and professor of religion. But he had many questions about how a person
should act to save his soul. He struggled for a long time but while reading the Bible, he found his answer.
Luther came to believe that a person could find salvation through faith alone.
In addition, Luther was upset with the Church because Pope Leo X had started to sell indulgences.
Indulgences were pardons for sins. By buying an indulgence, a person believed that he would not be punished
after death for his sins. Luther felt that the sale of indulgences was corrupt. In fact, he believed that the Pope
sold indulgences because he needed money to build St. Peters Church.
Luther began to write a series of 95 theses, or statements, against indulgences and other actions of the Roman
Catholic Church. In 1517, he posted his ninety five theses on a church door in Germany. The Pope
excommunicated (to expel from the Catholic Church) Luther. Luther found protection from several German
princes and responded to his excommunication by forming his own church. In addition, Luthers ideas spread
rapidly due to the invention of movable type or the printing press in 1455 by Johann Gutenberg. Luther and
other reformers were called Protestants because they protested against the abuses of the Roman Catholic
Church. The Protestant Reformation had begun.
Questions:
1: Who was Martin Luther?
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2: Why was Luther upset with the Roman Catholic Church?
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3: How did Luther believe a person could be saved?
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4: What were indulgences?
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5: Why was Luther opposed to the sale of indulgences?
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6: Why did the Pope sell indulgences?
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7: What were the ninety five theses?

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8: When did Luther post the ninety five theses?
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9: What was the Popes reaction to Luthers posting of the ninety five theses?
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10: What was Luthers reaction to his excommunication?
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11: What was the Protestant Reformation?
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12: Who was Johann Gutenberg and what did he invent?
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13: How did the invention of movable type help reformers like Luther?
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14: How do you think the Protestant Reformation changed Western Europe?

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The invention of the printing press helped to spread Luthers ideas. Pamphlets (hand bills) were printed and
distributed cheaply and quickly throughout Germany and the rest of Europe. Many people objected to paying
taxes to Rome and to the Church interfering in German politics
One very powerful supported of Luther was the Duke of Saxony. He insisted that the Pope should send
someone to Germany to answer Luthers arguments. In 1518 Cardinal Cajetan went to Augsburg (a city in
Germany) to argue with Luther; but this only resulted in Luther growing even more apart from the Catholic
Church. In June 1519 Luther made the claim that
the authority of the Bible was greater than that of the Pope.

What was Luthers position regarding indulgences?

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Word Bank:
Ninety Five These, Reformation, Faster, German Princes, Martin Luther, Protestants,
Indulgences, Excommunicated, Faith, Gutenberg, Church

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will
receive what they have asked and desired.
Martin Luther