What is this about?
Focuses on the divisions that plagued Christianity and Islam as well as the rise of religions like Sikhism trying to reconcile these differences
- Religion unified but also divided empires
The Protestant Reformation
- Factors that made people, both commoners and rulers, mad at the Catholic Church
- Corruption
- Indulgences = idea where you can pay the church to absolve your sins and reduce your time in purgatory
- Failed to stop the Black Death
- Furthermore, as rulers centralized their power, they did so at the expense of the church’s power
- For example, rulers would often confiscate church lands
Lutheranism
- In 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 Theses in a German city in the Holy Roman Empire
- He was mad about the sale of indulgences and other practices of the Catholic Church
- Also believed that a person's salvation is dependent only on their belief in God, and not on anything else they may do or achieve in life
- Goes against the Catholic belief that one must do good deeds
- Also believed that women too could reach directly to God, promoting literacy amongst women
- His publication marked the start of the Protestant Reformation
- Several German political leaders took advantage of this to break free from the power of the pope
Anglicanism (The Church of England)
- King Henry VIII of England (ruled 1509-1547) wanted to divorce his wife but the pope said no
- In retaliation he made his own church, called the Church of England, and made himself the head of his new church
- Allowed him to break free from the power of the pope
- Also known as the Anglican Church
Calvinism
- Created by John Calvin in 1530s
- Believed God predetermines who goes to heaven, called predestined
- Other offshoots include the Puritans, who wanted to purify the Church of England of any remaining Catholic influence
The Orthodox Church and Reforms in Russia
- Before Peter the Great, the Orthodox Church had great political power
- Peter the Great pushed reforms that defied the authority of the Orthodox Church
- For example, he abolished the position of patriarch, which was the head of the Orthodox Church, and in its place replaced it with the Holy Synod
- Holy Synod = council of bishops and other officials overseen by a secular official who reported directly to the tsar
- Effectively made the church subject to the authority of the state
- Initially unpopular amongst the common people and the church (obviously) but gradually gained support
Catholic Reformation
- Also known as Counter Reformation
- In order to try to stop the spread of Protestantism, the Catholic Church implements a numerous strategies consisting of reforms and other schemes
The Council of Trent
- Acknowledged and corrected some of the worst abuses of the Church
- Clarified parts of church doctrine
- Tried to reform the church
- Also published a list of banned books, which included Protestant bibles and the writings of Copernicus
The Jesuits
- Also known as the Society of Jesus, they were missionaries who also sought to reduce the spread of Protestantism
- Conducted missionary activity not just in Europe but also in India, China, Japan, the Americas, and the Philippines
- Allowed the Catholic Church to reach people globally while also preventing the spread of Protestantism
Impact of the Counter Reformation
- Pretty successful: even today Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity
- Furthermore, When European nations (such as Spain, France, Portugal) colonized, they spread Catholicism to their coloniesÂ
Wars of Religion
Philip II of Spain
- Tried to conquer England with his main motive being to convert it to Catholicism
- In 1588 however, his Spanish Armada was defeated by the English navy
The Thirty Year’s War
- Lasts from 1618 to 1648
- Was the final great war between Protestants and Catholics
- All of Europe gets involved, with the battleground being Germany (controlled by the Holy Roman Empire)
- War leads to total devastation:
- Economies plummeted, widespread famine, destruction, and disease
Peace of Westphalia
- War ends with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648
- Said every state had the right to govern its own area with absolute authority (self-determination)
- That meant no Pope interfering in political affairs anymore
- Every state could also pick what type of Christianity to pick
- France, Spain, Italy remained Catholic; Northern Europe was either Lutheran or Calvinist; England was Protestant with a state church
Balance of Power
- Puts an end to the fantasy of a unified Europe for good
- Ensured Europe would now be consisted of independent, sovereign, competing states that would keep each other in check to prevent one state from becoming too powerful
Islamic Religious Schisms
In the gunpowder empires, religion (Islam) and the state were closely tied together
Ottoman Empire
- Ottoman Empire implemented shariah law
- Shariah = Strict Islamic legal system that deals with all aspects of life (including stuff like inheritance, divorce, etc)
The Safavids
- Used Shia Islam as a unifying force
- This strict adherence to Shia Islam led to conflicts with the Ottoman Empire
Mughal Toleration and Prosperity
Toleration under Akbar
- Akbar was very tolerant of all religions
- He even gave money and land to Hindus, Muslims, and Christians
- Tried to resolve tensions between Muslims and Hindus
- Also welcomed the relatively new religion Sikhism
- Gave government positions, such as zamindars, to people of all faiths
- Tried to promote his Din-i Ilahi religion but failed
Sikhism
- Created in the late 1400s
- Syncretic religion that combines Hindu and Sufi (Muslim) teachings
- Rose in a time of violence between Hindus and Muslims and hope to reconcile differences between the two
- Printing press also helped to spread Sikh teachings
Beliefs of Sikhism
- Is a monotheistic religion
- Emphasizes direct, spiritual connection to God
- Heavily emphasizes equality and social justice; strongly against caste system
- Women treated equal to men: were allowed to become warriors and serve as religious leaders
Scientific Revolution
- Started in early 1500s and ended at started to end around the late 1700s
- Marks shift from religious thought to thought based on reasoning and evidence
- Empiricism = idea that a hypothesis must be backed up by data
- Issac Newton’s Principia published in 1687 combined the ideas of Galileo and Kepler and heavily influenced future science and math
- Scientific Revolution also paved the way for the Enlightenment