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Protestant Reformation
Religious Changes
Let’s turn our attention to the sweeping religious changes that would come to Europe in the 16th century. For all intents and purposes, Western Europe’s religious unity that has been through the Roman Catholic Church was coming to an end, and in many parts of Europe, it would be replaced by individuals who developed and spread their differing views on the Christian Church. In fact, very quickly people began to reshape their views on their faith, and many also began to reconsider their own roles in society. Think about that—if one could be equal in the eyes of God, then, could that mean individuals also have more equality in society?
Protestant Reformation
This period of dramatic religious change is known as the Protestant Reformation (hint: protest and reform). You may not have heard of the people listed below, but they made a great impact on the way people view Christianity in the world. Here is a brief overview of those we will study:
Martin Luther
Martin Luther started the reformation with his 95 Theses. Beginning with his stance against the sale of indulgences a pardon for certain types of sin and the resulting fallout with his revolt against the Catholic Church, he eventually formed the Lutheran Church.
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John Calvin
John Calvin started a theocracy church-run state in Geneva, Switzerland, and he embraced the ideology of predestination. His most famous work is Institutes of the Christian Religion.
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Ulrich Zwingli
Ulrich Zwingli was a Roman Catholic priest who broke with the church and formed his own Protestant church in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. He, like Calvin in Geneva, used his new church to keep the behaviors of the people of Zurich under strict control. He wrote the 67 Articles which became the moral code of the city.
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Henry VIII
Henry VIII started the English Reformation forming the Anglican Church that you will learn more about in the next unit.
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits, began the Counter-Reformation of the Roman Catholic Church. They tried to correct the problems within the church in hopes of reforming it and bringing those who had left back to the fold.
Catholic vs. Protestantism
Because the European countries became divided about the issue of faith, there were bitter battles between those who wished to remain Catholic and those who wanted to embrace Protestantism. One of those wars was the Thirty Years’ War which took place in the Holy Roman Empire in the area we now know as Germany.
Calvinism in France
Look below at the map in the country of France where strands of Calvinism 
grew, causing wars of religion there where members of the same country went to war seven times to solve the problems of religious division.
Religious Map Changed
By 1560, the religious map of Europe had vastly changed. Look at the map below to see how pockets across Western Europe embraced the various newly established Protestant faiths.