According to legend, a German monk called Martin Luther (1483–1546) nailed a document on to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on 31st October 1517. The document, known as the Ninety-five Theses, contained a series of attacks on the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, including the practice of offering pardons from sin for money. The devout Luther believed that people were saved by faith alone. (In fact, rather than nail it to a church door, Luther sent his document in a letter to the Archbishop of Mainz). Luther's act of protest marked the beginning of a religious movement that came to be called the Reformation.

Church corruption

By the time of the Renaissance, the Roman Catholic Church was extremely powerful throughout Europe. Its centre was in Rome, where the Pope and his court lived in lavish style. Many people thought that the Church had become corrupt, for example in its practices of offering important positions within the Church for money, and of selling “indulgences” (pardons from sins). These abuses were attacked by humanist scholars (who emphasize the value of individual human beings) such as the Dutch priest Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536). But it was Luther’s protest that started the process that eventually led to a split in the Roman Catholic Church.

The rise of Protestantism

Although Luther had no intention of breaking with the Catholic Church when he first demanded his reforms, he was excommunicated (thrown out) of the Church by the Pope in 1521. Nevertheless, he received support for his reforms from some rulers in Germany. It was during this time that the word Protestant began to be used to describe those “protesting” against the Catholic Church. The Protestant movement spread across Germany, and into Sweden and Denmark. In Switzerland it was taken up by a priest called Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531) who worked in Zürich. His followers became known as Zwinglians.
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Anglican Church

England broke with the Catholic Church for its own reasons. King Henry VIII wished to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. When the Pope refused to grant the divorce, Henry broke with the Church in 1534, having already become the head of the Church in England in 1531.

​​​​​​​Later, during the reign of Edward VI (1547–1553), the Protestant Church in England became known as the Anglican Church.

As Protestantism spread across Europe, the Catholic Church began to fight back with a movement known as the Counter-Reformation. There was reform within the Church, and many of the old abuses were wiped out. Catholic priests went out among the people and campaigned against Protestantism. The Catholic Order of the Society of Jesus was founded by Spanish priest Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) in 1540. Its members, known as Jesuits, made a special vow of obedience to the Pope. They played an important role in the Counter-Reformation.

The Catholic Church still remained very powerful, particularly in Spain and Italy. But the split between Catholics and Protestants in Europe led to persecution and conflict. In 1572, thousands of Huguenots (French Protestants) were murdered by French Catholics in the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
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