AP Euro Age of Reformation — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 1555 Peace of Augsburg resolved the first phase of religious conflict in the Holy Roman Empire. Which principle did it establish?
- Each individual subject could freely choose among Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Catholicism
- The emperor alone would decide the official religion of every German territory
- Each prince would determine whether his territory was Lutheran or Catholic, and dissenting subjects could emigrate (Correct answer)
- Lutheran and Catholic states would share equal control over all imperial church property
Correct answer: Each prince would determine whether his territory was Lutheran or Catholic, and dissenting subjects could emigrate
Augsburg established cuius regio, eius religio: rulers chose between Lutheranism and Catholicism for their lands. Subjects who disagreed could move elsewhere.
After decades of conflict between Charles V and the Lutheran princes, the Peace of Augsburg (1555) gave religious authority to territorial rulers, not to the emperor or to individuals. Princes could choose Lutheranism or Catholicism, and the principle is summarized as cuius regio, eius religio. Subjects of a different faith were allowed to emigrate. Calvinism was not recognized, which left tensions that later fed into the Thirty Years' War.
Question 2: Which of the following was a major response of the Council of Trent (1545–1563) to the Protestant Reformation?
- It reaffirmed Catholic doctrines such as transubstantiation and the authority of both scripture and church tradition (Correct answer)
- It abolished the sale of church offices and the clergy's authority to administer the sacraments
- It accepted justification by faith alone as the basis of salvation
- It transferred authority over doctrine from the pope to national church councils
Correct answer: It reaffirmed Catholic doctrines such as transubstantiation and the authority of both scripture and church tradition
Trent reaffirmed core Catholic teachings, including transubstantiation, the seven sacraments, and the authority of scripture together with tradition. It rejected the Protestant doctrine of faith alone.
The Council of Trent was the centerpiece of the Catholic (Counter-)Reformation. It defended the seven sacraments, transubstantiation, and the role of good works alongside faith in salvation. It also affirmed that scripture and church tradition were both authoritative and upheld papal authority. At the same time, it corrected abuses by requiring seminaries to train priests, and by discouraging the abuses surrounding indulgences and clerical absenteeism.
Question 3: Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) were primarily a protest against which practice?
- The use of Latin in the Mass
- The Church's sale of indulgences to reduce punishment for sins (Correct answer)
- The requirement that priests remain celibate
- The Church's veneration of saints' relics
Correct answer: The Church's sale of indulgences to reduce punishment for sins
Luther attacked the sale of indulgences, associated with figures such as Johann Tetzel, because it implied that salvation could be purchased. This challenge led him toward the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
In 1517 Luther objected to preachers like Johann Tetzel, who promoted indulgences to raise money for the Church, including the rebuilding of St. Peter's in Rome. Luther argued that forgiveness comes from God's grace through faith and not through payments. The theses spread rapidly thanks to the printing press. The controversy escalated into a broader break with Rome, which led to his excommunication and the emergence of Lutheranism.
Question 4: Which statement best describes John Calvin's doctrine of predestination?
- Salvation can be earned through a combination of faith and charitable works
- God has already chosen those who will be saved, regardless of their actions (Correct answer)
- Individuals can choose to accept or reject grace through free will
- The pope can determine who receives salvation through the sacraments
Correct answer: God has already chosen those who will be saved, regardless of their actions
Calvin taught that God has predestined the elect for salvation before birth, so human works cannot change that outcome. This distinguished Calvinism from the Catholic emphasis on faith plus works.
Calvin, working in Geneva, argued that God is sovereign and has foreordained who will be saved (the elect). Human beings cannot earn salvation by works or merit. Calvinists often looked to disciplined, moral lives as possible signs of election. Geneva became a model Protestant community and an international center for training Reformed ministers, who then spread Calvinism to France, Scotland, the Netherlands, and elsewhere.
Question 5: The Society of Jesus (Jesuits), founded by Ignatius of Loyola and approved in 1540, contributed to the Catholic Reformation mainly by
- leading armies of the Holy Roman Empire against Protestant princes
- enforcing doctrinal conformity through the Spanish Inquisition
- translating the Bible into vernacular languages for lay readers
- establishing schools and missions and pledging special obedience to the pope (Correct answer)
Correct answer: establishing schools and missions and pledging special obedience to the pope
The Jesuits were a disciplined order devoted to education and missionary work, and they swore special obedience to the pope. Their schools and missions helped strengthen Catholicism in Europe and overseas.
Ignatius of Loyola, a former soldier, organized the Jesuits along disciplined, quasi-military lines. Members were highly educated and took a vow of special obedience to the pope. They founded colleges across Europe, served as confessors and advisers to rulers, and carried missions to Asia and the Americas. Their work helped win back parts of Poland, southern Germany, and Bohemia for Catholicism.
Question 6: Why did Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy (1534) mark a turning point in the English Reformation?
- It made the king the supreme head of the Church of England, ending papal authority over the English church (Correct answer)
- It adopted Calvinist doctrine and abolished the episcopacy in England
- It restored Catholic worship after a brief period of Protestant rule
- It granted legal toleration to all Protestant sects in England
Correct answer: It made the king the supreme head of the Church of England, ending papal authority over the English church
The Act declared Henry VIII supreme head of the Church of England, severing it from papal authority. The break was driven largely by Henry's need for an annulment and his desire for greater political control.
When Pope Clement VII refused to annul Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry had Parliament pass a series of laws culminating in the Act of Supremacy. The English church was now under royal control, and Henry later dissolved the monasteries and seized their lands, which strengthened the crown and created a class with a stake in the break. Doctrinal change was limited under Henry and came more fully under Edward VI and Elizabeth I.
Question 7: The Edict of Nantes (1598), issued by Henry IV of France, is best understood as
- an order expelling all Huguenots from France
- a grant of limited toleration and rights of worship to French Protestants in an officially Catholic kingdom (Correct answer)
- a declaration making Calvinism the official religion of France
- an alliance between France and the Habsburgs against Protestant states
Correct answer: a grant of limited toleration and rights of worship to French Protestants in an officially Catholic kingdom
The edict gave Huguenots freedom of conscience, certain rights of worship, and some fortified towns, while Catholicism stayed the established religion. It aimed to end the French Wars of Religion.
The French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) pitted Catholics against Huguenots and included the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572. Henry IV, once a Huguenot leader, converted to Catholicism to gain the throne, then issued the Edict of Nantes to end the fighting. It gave Protestants limited legal and military guarantees while keeping Catholicism dominant. Louis XIV revoked the edict in 1685 with the Edict of Fontainebleau, which sent many Huguenots into exile.
Question 8: The Defenestration of Prague (1618) is historically significant because it
- ended the Habsburg claim to the Bohemian throne
- led directly to the Peace of Westphalia
- triggered a Protestant revolt in Bohemia that began the Thirty Years' War (Correct answer)
- caused Lutheran princes to form the Schmalkaldic League
Correct answer: triggered a Protestant revolt in Bohemia that began the Thirty Years' War
Bohemian Protestant nobles threw Habsburg officials out of a window in Prague, sparking a revolt against Habsburg Catholic rule. This incident began the Thirty Years' War.
Bohemian nobles feared that the Catholic Habsburg Ferdinand would curtail Protestant rights, and they responded by throwing his representatives from a window of Prague Castle. The revolt widened as the Habsburgs, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, and France became involved, and the war became as much a struggle over political power in Europe as over religion. The Peace of Westphalia ended the war in 1648.
Question 9: Which was a result of the Peace of Westphalia (1648)?
- The Holy Roman Emperor gained greater control over the German princes
- Calvinism was recognized alongside Lutheranism and Catholicism, and German princes gained greater sovereignty (Correct answer)
- Protestantism was outlawed throughout the Holy Roman Empire
- Spain regained control of the northern Netherlands
Correct answer: Calvinism was recognized alongside Lutheranism and Catholicism, and German princes gained greater sovereignty
Westphalia extended the Augsburg settlement to Calvinists and confirmed the princes' autonomy, weakening imperial authority. It also recognized Dutch independence from Spain.
The Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War, which had devastated much of central Europe. It broadened the principle of Augsburg to include Calvinism and gave the several hundred German states essentially sovereign powers, leaving the Holy Roman Empire fragmented. The treaties also confirmed the independence of the Dutch Republic and France's gains. Many historians view Westphalia as a milestone in the development of a European system of sovereign states.
Question 10: How did Martin Luther respond to the German Peasants' War of 1524–1525?
- He supported the rebels' demands for the abolition of serfdom and joined their leaders
- He urged the princes to suppress the rebellion harshly, helping to cost him support among the lower classes (Correct answer)
- He remained silent and withdrew from public life
- He called on the emperor to adopt the Twelve Articles as imperial law
Correct answer: He urged the princes to suppress the rebellion harshly, helping to cost him support among the lower classes
Luther denounced the rebels and urged the nobility to crush the uprising. He feared social disorder, and his stance showed that the Lutheran Reformation relied on the support of the princes.
Peasants cited Luther's ideas about Christian freedom in demanding relief from serfdom and heavy obligations, for example in the Twelve Articles. Luther, however, believed that obedience to secular authority was a Christian duty, and he wrote against the rebels. The princes put down the revolt with great bloodshed. The episode strengthened the alliance between Lutheranism and territorial rulers, and it alienated some of Luther's followers who had hoped for social as well as religious change.
AP Euro Age of Reformation
The 1555 Peace of Augsburg resolved the first phase of religious conflict in the Holy Roman Empire.
Which principle did it establish?
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