Antecedents of the 95 Theses
John CalvinAt eight years old, John Calvin was inspired by the 95 theses written by Martin Luther. He influenced the spread of protestantism just as much as Luther did. In 1536, Calvin published Institutes of the Christian Religion. This book illustrated ideas about God, salvation, and human nature. Calvin started a belief called predestination: when God already knows who will be saved, this religion based on Calvin’s teachings is called Calvinism. Today the belief of predestination is present in Jehovah Witnesses and many other Christian branches.
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Huldrych ZwinlgiPrior to Martin Luther a Catholic priest in Zurich, Huldrych Zwingli, was the start of Religious reforms in Switzerland. In 1520, Zwingli openly attacked abuses that happened in the Catholic Church, he wanted believers to have more control over the Church. Unfortunately, in 1531 a war took place between Swiss Protestant and Catholics and Zwingli lost his life, but his idea lived on.
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The Great SchismThe Great Schism (1054) split the main faction of Christianity into two divisions, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Today, they remain the two largest denominations of Christianity. While religion played a huge role in the split, political and social conflicts also impacted this event. The split influenced many of the different "rules" in Christianity today and also allowed Christianity to branch out into multiple different versions.
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