Martin Luther

Revolution – Martin Luther’s protest over abuses in the Catholic Church led to the founding of
Protestant churches
 Nearly 1/5 of the Christians in today’s world are Protestants

Terms: indulgence, Reformation, Lutheran, Protestant, Peace of Augsburg, annul, Anglican

Worldview Connection:

Objectives:
1. To analyze historical forces and religious issues that sparked the Reformation
a. Renaissance ideas and corrupt clergy undermine the Church’s authority
b. Several church leaders call for reforms
2. To trace Martin Luther’s role in the religious movement to reform the Catholic Church
a. Martin Luther, a German monk, protests the sale of indulgences
b. In 1517, Luther begins the Reformation when he posts the 95 Theses attacking the sale of
indulgences on a church door in Wittenberg
c. Luther teaches his views on the path to salvation and the interpretation of the Bible
3. To analyze the impact of Luther’s religious revolt
a. The pope excommunicates Luther
b. The Holy Roman emperor declares Luther a heretic and outlaw
c. German peasants revolt in 1524
d. The Holy Roman emperor wages war against the Protestant princes of Germany
4. To explain the spread of the Protestant faith to England during King Henry VIII’s reign
a. The pope refuses to annul King Henry VIII’s marriage
b. Henry resolves the marriage problem b asking Parliament to end the pope’s power in
England
c. Parliament passes an act making the English king, not the pope, the head of the Church of
England
d. Clashes over religious reform heighten when Henry’s heirs take the throne
e. Henry’s daughter Elizabeth I returns England to Protestantism during her reign