The Reformation (1517-1685)
By: Christina Gross
Jan Hus
Jan Hus was a priest who spoke out against the Catholic Church. He said that it wasn't right to pay your way into Heaven. He believed you could pray directly to God and pray for him to for give you of your sins. He also believed that you could go straight to Heaven and that there was not a step in between. The followers of his beliefs were called Hussites. They later rebelled against the Catholic Church.
Painting of Jan Hus
Rainbow Colored Background with Jan Hus in the center
Martin Luther
A portrait of Martin Luther
The Catholic Church
B&W picture of the Roman Catholic Church
The Impact of Jan Hus and Martin Luther
Jan Hus and Martin Luther had a big impact on religion in the Reformation. They were two of the main causes of religion reforming during this time period. The religion went from everybody being Christian (had to be Catholic) and having to pay their way into Heaven to praying directly to God and him forgiving them of their sins. The church eventually broke apart into their own religions such as some of the ones that are still around today (Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, etc.) If Jan Hus and Martin Luther hadn't spoken out against the Church our religion today may not have been the same.
Important Place: The Roman Catholic Church
An important place in these times was the Roman Catholic Church. The Church was where all of the royalty and meetings were held (for the most part). If you had a complaint with the church you nailed it on the door. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door and the Wittenburg Cathedral Church wasn't very happy. He had a bunch of complaints about paying your way to Heaven and praying through a priest. After a lot of followers from the other new religions started to rebel. The effect of this was the breaking off of the Roman Catholic Church into different religions.