Protestantism

Table of Contents

Introduction
Origins of Protestantism
The context of the late medieval church
The continental Reformation: Germany, Switzerland, and France
- The role of Luther
  - The indulgence system
  - Ninety-five Theses
  - Luther’s manifesto
  - Diet of Worms
- Radical reformers related to Luther’s reform
- Zwingli and his influence
  - The Anabaptists
  - Other groups
- The role of Calvin
- Calvinism in France
The Reformation in England and Scotland
- Henry VIII and the separation from Rome
- The role of John Knox
- The rise of Puritanism
  - Origins
  - Puritanism under the Stuarts (1603–49)
    - Events under James I
    - Events under Charles I
    - Civil war
  - The age of Cromwell (1649–60)
  - The Restoration (1660–85)
  - Puritanism in the English colonies
    - Virginia
    - Massachusetts Bay
    - Other colonies
The expansion of the Reformation in Europe
Protestant renewal and the rise of the denominations
- The setting for renewal
  - Survival of a mystical tradition
  - Catholic recovery of Protestant territories
  - Protestant scholasticism
- The rise of Pietism
  - Pietism in the 17th century
  - 18th-century Pietism in central Europe and England
  - 18th-century Pietism in Scandinavia and America
    - Denmark-Norway
    - North America
- Rationalism
- Evangelicalism in England and the Colonies
  - Methodism
  - The Great Awakening
- Legacies of the American Revolution and French Revolution
- The revival of Pietism
  - Germany
  - North America
- The era of Protestant expansion
  - Toleration
  - The rise of American Protestant influence
  - The spread of missions
- Revivalism in the 19th century
- New issues facing Protestantism in the 19th century
  - Churches and social change
  - Biblical criticism
Protestantism since the early 20th century
- Mainstream Protestantism
- Conservative and Evangelical forms of Protestantism
  - Pentecostalism
  - Fundamentalism
  - Evangelicalism
- Theological movements within Protestantism
- The ecumenical movement

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Protestantism

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Written by Martin E. Marty, James C. Spalding, W. Owen ChadwickSee All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 23, 2024 • Article History

Martin Luther's excommunication

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Category: History & Society

Key People:: Louis XIV; Philip; Johan van Oldenbarnevelt; Mary I; Saint Pius V

Related Topics:: The Protestant Heritage; Lutheranism; Baptist; prosperity gospel; Zwinglianism

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Protestantism, Christian religious movement that began in northern Europe in the early 16th century as a reaction to medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. Along with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism became one of three major forces in Christianity. After a series of European religious wars in the 16th and 17th centuries, and especially in the 19th century, it spread throughout the world. Wherever Protestantism gained a foothold, it influenced the social, economic, political, and cultural life of the area. The name Protestant first appeared at the Diet of Speyer in 1529, when the Roman Catholic emperor of Germany, ...(100 of 23564 words)

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