The Reformation and the growth of science
In 1517 Martin Luther challenged the Church, splitting Christians into Catholics and Protestants. Reason and experiment also produced a scientific revolution: Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton.
Causes of the Reformation
- The medieval Church had become linked with superstition, corruption and greed for money.
- People paid fees to see 'holy relics', such as wood said to be from the true Cross, believing they could heal.
- Church posts were sold. So were letters of indulgence, papers said to free the buyer from punishment for sins.
- The Church stressed blind faith over reason, as a way to collect money from believers.
- The Renaissance spirit of questioning made people reject such practices.
- German princes protected Luther, partly because they wanted to seize Church property.
How the Reformation unfolded
- 1517Martin Luther, a German priest, openly challenges the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
- His teachingThe Bible is the only source of religious authority. Salvation (being saved from sin) comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not by buying indulgences.
- 3 January 1521Pope Leo X excommunicates Luther (puts him out of the Church) because he will not stop writing against it.
- SpreadLuther's movement spreads through Huldreich Zwingli, John Calvin and, in England, King Henry VIII.
- EnglandHenry VIII wants to divorce Catherine of Aragon. His minister Thomas Cromwell helps Parliament pass the Act in Restraint of Appeals and the Act of Supremacy. The king becomes head of the Church in England and marries Anne Boleyn.
- Counter ReformationThe Catholic Church reforms itself to cut corruption. Ignatius Loyola founds the Society of Jesus, which stresses service of God, charity and missionary work.Your NIOS lesson spells his name 'Ignatious Loyal'. The usual spelling, used here, is Ignatius Loyola.
Impact of the Reformation
- Christianity split into Protestants and Roman Catholics.
- The Pope's hold over kings weakened, and kings gained power, as Henry VIII did in England.
- The Catholic Church cleaned up its own practices through the Counter Reformation.
- More people read the Bible for themselves, helped by printed copies.
- Questioning authority became common. This helped science and, later, political revolutions.
Scientists of the age
| Scientist | Field | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Copernicus | Astronomy | In his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, said the earth and planets move round the sun. |
| Kepler | Astronomy | Planets move round the sun in elliptical (oval) paths; a force from the sun, which he thought magnetic, keeps them moving. |
| Galileo | Astronomy | With a telescope he made himself, found the moons of Jupiter and spots on the sun, and saw odd shapes beside Saturn; supported Copernicus. Your NIOS lesson says he found Saturn's rings: he saw them, but Huygens showed in 1655 that they were rings. |
| Isaac Newton | Physics | Built on these ideas to give the Law of Universal Gravitation. |
| Michael Servetus | Medicine | A Spanish doctor who described how blood circulates through the lungs. |
| William Harvey | Medicine | An English doctor who explained how the heart pumps blood round the body. |
| Leonardo da Vinci | Art and science | Careful drawings of the human body and of nature, a blend of art and science. |
Who moves round whom?
Science now rested on observation and experiment, not on tradition. The same curiosity soon sent explorers to find new lands.
ISRO plans the orbits of its satellites and Chandrayaan missions using Kepler's laws and Newton's gravitation. Every blood pressure check at a clinic rests on Harvey's idea that the heart pumps blood round the body.
1 marks: “Who discovered the moons of Jupiter with a telescope he made himself?” Galileo.
2 marks: “What did Martin Luther teach about the Bible and about how a Christian is saved?” (1) The Bible is the only source of religious authority. (2) Salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not through buying letters of indulgence or blind faith in the Church.
3 marks: “What were the causes of the Reformation? Explain any three.” (1) Corruption and greed in the Church. (2) Sale of Church posts and letters of indulgence. (3) Superstition, such as fees to see relics. Also: the Renaissance spirit of questioning and the German princes' support for Luther.
1517: Luther lit the spark; Loyola answered with the Jesuits. Sky order C-K-G-N: 'Can Kids Grasp Newton?' (Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton).