Unit 2: Age of Reformation
AP European History: 52 practice questions with detailed explanations.
Unit Study Guide
Executive Summary
Luther's challenge to indulgences split Western Christianity; the Catholic Church reformed itself; religious wars reshaped Europe's politics.
The Protestant Reformation
Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) attacked indulgences. Core doctrines: sola fide (faith alone), sola scriptura (scripture alone), priesthood of all believers. The Diet of Worms condemned him; Frederick the Wise sheltered him; the printing press spread his German Bible. Calvin added predestination from Geneva; Henry VIII broke with Rome for political and dynastic reasons, creating the Anglican Church via the Act of Supremacy.
The Catholic Reformation
The Council of Trent reaffirmed doctrine (faith AND works), reformed abuses, and rejected Protestant teaching. The Jesuits (Ignatius of Loyola) spread the faith through education and missions. The Inquisition and Index of Prohibited Books enforced orthodoxy. Baroque art stirred devotion.
Effects
Christendom permanently divided; literacy rose as people read the Bible; clerical celibacy ended in Protestant lands; witch hunts spiked amid religious anxiety; German princes gained power and church lands.
Wars of religion
The Peace of Augsburg (1555): cuius regio, eius religio — rulers choose their territory's faith. France: Catholic-Huguenot wars, St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572), the Edict of Nantes (1598) granting toleration. The Spanish Armada failed against England (1588). The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) ended with the Peace of Westphalia, recognizing state sovereignty.
Exam traps
Luther kept baptism and the Eucharist. Henry VIII's break was political before theological. Augsburg let RULERS choose, not individuals.