World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide

High and Late Middle Ages Starting in the 11 th century, Western schools were developed into universities, such as the University of Oxford, the University of Paris, and the University of Bologna. The traditional medieval universities evolved from Catholic and Protestant church schools. Church building and the rise of ecclesiastical architecture reached new heights, culminating in the orders of Romanesque and Gothic architecture and the building of great European cathedrals. The Crusades were launched under the pontification of Urban II. This series of military campaigns occurred in the Holy Land (and elsewhere), and initiated, in response to pleas from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I, for aid against the Turkish expansion. In effect, the Crusades did not suppress Islamic aggressions and they contributed to Christian hatred. From the 7 th to the 13 th century, the Christian Church went through a gradual alienation, creating divisions of a Latin, or Western, Christian branch – the Roman Catholic Church – and an Eastern, largely Greek branch – the Orthodox Church. These two churches disagreed on some administrative, liturgical, and doctrinal issues. Thus, around 1184 AD, a group of institutions broadly referred to as “the Inquisition”, was established. The focus of this group was to quash heresy, as well as to secure religious and doctrinal unity within Christianity through the processes of conversion and prosecution. Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation The 15 th -century Renaissance brought about a renewed interest in learning, both ancient and classical. The Reformation resulted in the division of the Western Christendom into several denominations, all Christian. In 1517, Martin Luther protested against the sale of indulgences; shortly after, he denied several key points of the Roman Catholic doctrine. The Roman Catholic Church, in response to the Protestant Reformation, engaged in an extensive process of reform and renewal, also known as the Counter-Reformation, or Catholic Reform. Competition for political rule in Europe existed between the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. A new wave of missionary activity arose in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. Christianity soon spread to the Americas, Oceania, East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. The split between Catholicism and Protestantism led to religious violence and the establishment of separate state churches in Europe; for example, Lutheranism in parts of Germany and Scandinavia, and Anglicanism in England in 1534.

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