Catholic–Protestant relations
These included distinction between clergy and laity, the Catholic Church's monopoly on scriptural interpretation, the sale of indulgences, the nature of salvation, and more.
Luther highlighted that Christian salvation was a free gift from God which led him to criticise the sale of indulgences as a means by which one can attain heaven.
Based on the idea of human's sin-enslaved will, and salvation being the sole work of God (not man), Calvin insisted that certain individuals were predestined for heaven and others were not.
Electors of Saxony Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration The 16th century began the Reformation which resulted in the formation of Protestantism as a distinct entity to Catholicism.
After years of the spread of Martin Luther's ideas, Protestants submitted their statement of belief at the Diet of Augsburg (1530).
[12] In 1540 Pope Paul III approved the order of the Society of Jesus (or "Jesuits") which was created largely to combat Protestantism.
[15] The Reformation in France took on a unique flavour which lacked the public, State and church support found elsewhere in Europe.
The 1598 Edict of Nantes gave Huguenots the right to practice freely while retaining Catholicism as the nation's official religion.
Though it faced opposition by its ruling power – Spain – the Dutch independence movement dispelled with Spanish imposition and allowed for Protestant development.
In Sweden, the Reformation was spearheaded by Gustav Vasa, elected king in 1523, with major contributions by Olaus Petri, a Swedish clergyman.
Friction with the pope over the latter's interference in Swedish ecclesiastical affairs led to the discontinuance of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy since 1523.
In 1536, following his victory in the Count's War, he became king as Christian III and continued the Reformation of the state church with assistance from Johannes Bugenhagen.
[20] In 1538, when the kingly decree of the new Church ordinance reached Iceland, bishop Ögmundur and his clergy denounced it, threatening excommunication for anyone subscribing to the German "heresy".
[21] In 1539, the King sent a new governor to Iceland, Klaus von Mervitz, with a mandate to introduce reform and take possession of church property.
Henry VIII declared himself Head of the Church of England (1534) in response to Rome's refusal to sanction his divorcing of Queen Catherine.
Officially, the reformation in England began under Edward VI (1547–53) led by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury.
[22] Overall, the reformation led to the seizing of all Catholic Church assets in Britain, persecution of clergy, and the virtual destruction of Catholicism as a significant socio-political force in the region.
In 1725 Spanish-born Londoner Antonio Gavin wrote A Master Key to Popery which was adopted in Protestant sects across the British Empire.
Gavin described Catholic clergymen as "wolves in sheep's clothing", purposefully teaching erroneous doctrine, power-hungry and more.
Jonathan Mayhew, pastor of Boston's West Church, also preached on the idolatry of transubstantiation and the equating of oral tradition with sacred scripture.
The late 18th century saw a series of new laws introduced to British North America to curtail the immigration of Catholics and dispossess those already dwelling there.
Thus, when conspiracies of secret relations between the Catholic Church and the British Monarchy spread, colonials preferred to revolt from Britain.
[26] In 1871 the Protestant rulers of Germany undertook a program known as the kulturkampf (culture struggle) which saw the suppression of German Catholicism.
[27] In 1895 Pope Leo XIII attempted to make amends with the Church of England in his apostolic letter Ad Anglos.
[30] In 1950 the Roman Catholic Church widened the gap between itself and Protestantism by defining and enforcing the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary under Pius XII.
[30] In the spirit of Vatican II, the Catholic Church has embraced a more open approach to Christian unity to both Protestants and Eastern Orthodoxy.
