AP Euro - Renaissance, Reformation & Religious Wars

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Christian Humanism

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A movement of the Northern Renaissance that applied Renaissance learning to the study of scripture and Church Fathers. Figures like Erasmus and Thomas More sought to reform the Catholic Church from within through scholarship and moral improvement, emphasizing a return to the simplicity of early Christianity.

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Erasmus of Rotterdam

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The leading Christian Humanist of the Northern Renaissance. He utilized the new textual criticism of philology to produce a Greek edition of the New Testament (1516) which corrected errors in the Latin Vulgate, thereby inadvertently paving the way for the Protestant Reformation.

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Martin Luther's 95 Theses (1517)

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A list of arguments posted by Martin Luther on the church door in Wittenberg, primarily objecting to the sale of indulgences. This event is traditionally cited as the spark of the Protestant Reformation, utilizing the printing press to disseminate ideas rapidly.

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Sola Fide & Sola Scriptura

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Core theological tenets of Martin Luther. 'Sola Fide' (justification by faith alone) argued that good works were not necessary for salvation. 'Sola Scriptura' (scripture alone) asserted that the Bible was the sole authority on religious matters, rejecting papal infallibility.

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John Calvin

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A French theologian and lawyer who wrote *Institutes of the Christian Religion*. He established a theocratic government in Geneva and expanded Protestant theology with the doctrine of predestination, organizing a model church structure that spread internationally.