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RELIGIOUS WARS AND THE COUNTER-REFORMATION - Coggle Diagram
RELIGIOUS WARS AND THE COUNTER-REFORMATION
Religious wars
In 1521, the Church excommunicated Luther and attempted to prosecute him for heresy.
It was unsuccessful because he received the protection of the German nobles.
They saw an opportunity to increase their possessions and their autonomy from the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Carlos I, the Catholic Monarchs' grandson and King of Spain, was appointed Emperor in 1519.
He was a devout Catholic and tried to mediate in this conflict to prevent the division of the Church.
Various meetings took place, such as the Diet of Worms, but no agreement was reached.
The Catholics considered the Lutherans Protestants, but they referred to themselves as the Reformed.
The Emperor supported the Pope and the Church, but the Protestant German princes supported Luther and formed an alliance called the Schmalkaldic League.
A civil war broke out and the Emperor and the Catholic German princes defeated the League at the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547.
France sided against the Emperor, resulting in a greater balance of military power.
The Peace of Augsburg was signed in 1555, under which the Emperor granted the Protestant princes religious freedom.
Provoked a series of religious wars
In France
The wars between Catholics and Protestants continued into the second half of the 16th century.
There were very bloody episodes, such as the massacre of Protestants on St. Bartholomew's Day in 1572.
These conflicts ended in 1598 when King Henry IV signed the Edict of Nantes, which granted the Protestants a certain amount of religious freedom.
In te Low Countries
The Dutch War of Independence or Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) took place.
This was both a rebellion against Spanish rule and a civil war between the Calvinists and Catholics.
It ended with the victory of the Calvinists in the northern provinces.
In the British Isles
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639-1651) took place.
These were a series of conflicts among the Catholics, Anglicans and Puritans in England, Scotland and Ireland.
Which ended with the Anglicans gaining power.
Consequences of religious division in Europe
Protestants and Catholics persecuted each other in the areas they dominated.
For example, in Switzerland the Calvinists executed the Spanish scientist Miguel Servet for his religious beliefs.
The Pope and the Emperor became less influential.
The Protestant kings and nobles gained more power by taking over their national churches and their possessions.
The counter-reformation
The Counter-Reformation was a religious, intellectual and political movement led by the Catholic Church against the Protestant Reformation.
The Council of Trent, which has held between 1545 and 1563.
Established the Catholic Church’s course of action in three main areas: the clarification of their teachings, internal reform and the repression of Protestantism.
The clarification of their teachings.
He dogmas and principles that the Protestants had rejected were maintained.
These included carrying out good deeds to achieve salvation.
Observing the seven sacraments, recognising the Pope as the highest authorit.
Internal reform.
Measures were taken to resolve internal corruption.
Seminaries and universities were founded to improve the training priests received.
Bishops were more strictly controlled, the sale of indulgences was prohibited and the religious orders were reformed.
The Society of Jesus also gained importance.
The Jesuits became the main group responsible for spreading the teachings of the Counter-Reformation.
The repression of Protestantism.
Whose followers were considered heretics.
The Inquisition was reinforced and an Index of forbidden books, which opposed the Catholic faith, was published.
