New
New
Year 8

Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation

I can explain how Martin Luther began the Reformation.

New
New
Year 8

Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation

I can explain how Martin Luther began the Reformation.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In 1517 Martin Luther questioned the teachings of the Catholic Church in his '95 Theses'.
  2. Luther challenged Church practices that did not appear in the Bible, such as indulgences.
  3. Luther's ideas challenged the power of the Church, leading to him being accused of heresy and being excommunicated.
  4. Henry VIII defended the pope in 1521 'Defence of the Seven Sacraments'.
  5. Luther's ideas led to widespread religious and political reform over the next few centuries.

Common misconception

A single person cannot shape history by themselves.

The Great Man Theory in History - the idea that a single person is responsible for important events - is somewhat outdated, but occasionally, as is the case with Martin Luther, an argument can be made that individuals can radically shape events.

Keywords

  • Indulgence - something medieval Christians could buy from the Church in the belief that it would reduce their time in Purgatory

  • Church - the organisation of the Christian religion

  • Excommunicated - to be banned from Church services and the community

  • Reformation - a 16th century movement calling for the reform of the Church

For the final task, create a continuum line in your classroom that students can stand on to denote how significant they think Martin Luther was. Choose students to explain their opinions based upon where they are standing on the continuum line.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
How many wives did Henry VIII have?
Correct Answer: 6, six, Six
Q2.
Which of the following had significant power in the early modern period?
Correct answer: the Church
peasants
Correct answer: the Pope
Correct answer: the monarch
enslaved people
Q3.
Which of the following often had significant tensions over power in the early modern period?
Correct answer: the Church and the monarch
knights and the Church
peasants and enslaved people
Q4.
What religion was England during the early modern period?
Jewish
Muslim
Correct answer: Christian
Sikh
Q5.
Put the following in order of hierarchy in the early modern Church, starting with the most powerful.
1 - God
2 - Pope
3 - Archbishops
4 - Priests
5 - Monks and nuns
6 - Congregation
Q6.
Put the following time periods in chronological order.
1 - the Bronze Age
2 - Ancient Roman period
3 - Medieval period
4 - Early modern period
5 - 20th century

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:indulgences,something Christians could buy to reduce their time in Purgatory

something Christians could buy to reduce their time in Purgatory

Correct Answer:Church,the organisation of the Christian religion

the organisation of the Christian religion

Correct Answer:excommunicated,to be banned from Church services and the community

to be banned from Church services and the community

Correct Answer:Reformation,a 16th century movement calling for the reform of the Church

a 16th century movement calling for the reform of the Church

Q2.
Complete the following sentence: In 1517, Martin Luther questioned the teachings of the Catholic Church in his ' Theses'.
Correct Answer: 95, ninety five, Ninety five
Q3.
Which of the following were issues for the Catholic Church at the beginning of the 16th century?
Too many followers
Correct answer: Lack of education that many parish priests received
Correct answer: Some members of the Church were also known to act in immoral ways.
Correct answer: The selling of indulgences
Correct answer: The Bible was written in Latin and Church services were spoken in Latin.
Q4.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Luther visits Rome and is disgusted with the behaviour of the people there.
2 - Luther nails his theses to the Church door in Wittenberg.
3 - Pope Leo X calls 41 of Luther’s theses heretical.
4 - Henry VIII, writes a counter-argument to Luther’s Theses.
Q5.
Which of the following were reforms Luther wanted to implement?
Correct answer: No hierarchy of priests
Keeping of all the sacraments
Correct answer: No indulgences
Bible in Latin but Church services in local language
Correct answer: Bible and Church services in local language
Q6.
What were the consequences of the Diet of Worms in April 1521?
Luther renounced his theses.
Correct answer: Luther was branded an outlaw.
Correct answer: Luther was kidnapped.
Correct answer: Luther fled when it became clear he would lose.
Luther was excommunicated.

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