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In
the 16th century, there was a big change in the way
some Christians worshipped God.
Before,
most people in Europe had been Roman Catholics.
In
1517, a German monk called Martin Luther led a breakaway from
the Roman Catholic church.
The
new Christians called themselves ‘Protestants’.
Many countries in northern Europe turned Protestant –
for example, Switzerland, Holland, Sweden and most of Germany.
Other countries (for example Spain and Austria) stayed
Catholic.
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A
picture of Luther in 1520.
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Catholics and
Protestants
Catholics
and Protestants hated each other because they believed
different things:
Source
A: Different Beliefs
Catholics
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Protestants
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| The
Pope is head of the Church |
The
King is head of the Church |
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Bishops
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Elders
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The
Mass
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Preaching
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Priests
bring Christ to the people
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Anyone
can talk straight to God.
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Statues
of the Saints and the Virgin Mary should be venerated.
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Statues
of the Saints and the Virgin Mary are as bad as idols.
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Services
and the Bible in Latin
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Services
and the Bible in English
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Doing
good things gets you to heaven.
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A
personal faith in Jesus gets you to heaven.
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Bright
robes, colourful paintings and stained glass windows.
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Plain
churches – black coats, whitewashed walls and clear
windows.
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Priests
cannot marry
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Ministers
may marry.
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During
the 16th and 17th centuries these things REALLY
mattered a lot.
There were many wars (and, in France) civil wars between
Protestants and Catholics.
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Did You Know?
Luther
was not the only Protestant reformer, although he was the
first.
Other famous Protestant leaders were Zwingli and
Calvin.
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The
English Reformation
In
England in the 16th century, religion changed like
a roller coaster!
Here is a wonderful diagram which shows what happened:
Click
on the monarchs to find out more:
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Links!
Pictures
of the Tudor monarchs
Mr
Field's site - very clear
An overview
A
timeline - detailed
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