The Protestant Reformation: Crash Course European History #6

You may have noticed that the internet is terrible at religious discourse. Well, this is not a new phenomenon. In the early 16th century, the Roman Catholic church dominated Christianity in Europe, and the institution was starting to show some cracks. Tensions mounted and protests grew, and eventually, the Protestant Reformation happened. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, but the Reformation doesn’t exactly begin with Luther, and it certainly doesn’t end with him. Today, we’re looking at how and why the Catholic church in Europe split, first into two sects, and eventually into a LOT of sects.

Sources:

• Hunt, Lynn et al. Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, 6th ed. (Boston: Bedford St Martins, 2019 ch. 14.
• Kelley, Donald R. Beginning of Ideology: Consciousness and Society in the French Reformation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981) ch. 1.
• Smith, Bonnie G. Women in World History since 1450 (London: Bloomsbury, 2019) ch. 3.