TEACHER’S GUIDE
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Follow-up Activities ____________________________
Suggested Print Resources________________________
• Have students research and chart examples of all four varieties of
Protestant faith, specifying founders, doctrines, particular concerns,
varieties of worship and differences with other Christian sects.
• Brown, Robert M. The Spirit of Protestantism. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1996.
• Have students investigate and analyze the customs, traditions, beliefs and
differences among the Amish, the Mennonites and the German Brethren
as examples of Radical Protestant sects.
• The Quakers and Puritans were Protestant groups that came to America
during the colonial era seeking religious freedom. Divide the class in half
and have each group research the history of these settlements and how
their practices reflected the religious freedom and tolerance they sought.
TEACHER’S GUIDE
• Dowley, Tim. Introduction Into the History of Protestantism.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995.
• Estep,William R. The Anabaptist Story. Caerdmans Publishing, 1996.
• Murray, John and Murray, Ian H. Reformation of the Church. Banner of
Truth, 1996.
• Music plays a significant role in the Protestant religion. Have students
research the roots of religious music, such as traditional hymns and
contemporary gospel music.
Internet Resources ____________________________
PROTESTANT
CHRISTIANITY
www.800padutch.com/amish.html
The Amish and “The Plain People” — This site addresses commonly asked
questions about the Amish, the Mennonites, the Brethren and the other
“Plain People” of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country.
http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/methodist/jwol1.html
John Wesley:An On-line Exhibition — An online exhibition that contains
images from the extensive collection of manuscripts contained within the
Methodist archives at the John Rylands University Library of Manchester.
www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberghome.html
Project Wittenberg — Home to works by and about Martin Luther and
other Lutherans. Here you will find all forms of texts, from short quotations to commentaries, hymns to statements of faith, theological treatises
to biographies, and links to other places where words and images from
the history of Lutheranism live.
www.religioustolerance.org/
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance — Promotes religious tolerance through education; this site has profiles of many religions, points out
examples of intolerance and addresses “hot” current topics in religion.
Links from the home page include the following articles: Divisions Among
Protestant Denominations and Differences Between Roman Catholic
and Conservative Protestantism.
TEACHER’S GUIDE:
Paul J. Sanborn
Assistant Professor of Intelligence, American Military University
Historian, Freedoms Foundation
TITLES IN THIS SERIES
• AFRICAN AND AFRICANAMERICAN RELIGIONS
• ANCIENT RELIGIONS OF
THE MEDITERRANEAN
• BUDDHISM
• CONFUCIANISM & TAOISM
• HINDUISM
• ISLAM
• JUDAISM
• NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY
• ORTHODOX AND ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY
• PROTESTANT CHRISTIANITY
• RELIGIONS OF SMALL SOCIETIES
• SHINTO
• SKEPTICISM & RELIGIOUS
RELATIVISM
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
800-843-3620
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 800-843-3620
5
©1998 Religions of the World, LLC under license from
Liberty International Entertainment, Inc.
Produced and directed by Greenstar Television
Liberty
International Entertainment Inc.™
he study of world religion is the examination of
the specific beliefs, customs and traditions of a
particular religion as well as its impact on world
culture and history.The Religions of the World video
series and its accompanying Teacher’s Guides are
designed to supplement World Cultures and History
curriculum. These teaching aids are meant to invite
classroom study and dialogue and challenge students
to make connections between the past and the
present. Questions and insights are likely to develop
and will reveal striking similarities and vast differences
among the world’s major religions as well as the
unique perspective of its many individual cultures.
T
Historical Overview ______________________________
Vocabulary ______________________________________
Protestantism represents the outcome of centuries of disagreement over
doctrine and practice within the Catholic Church. Led by Martin Luther in
16th-century western Europe, this spiritual revolution gained momentum
and, under the helm of other Protestant leaders, thrived and grew into new
factions around the world, especially in Europe and North America.
Martin Luther — German priest and leader of the Protestant Reformation.
Ecumenical Protests — Protests of a religious nature.
Diet of Worms — The meeting of the assembly of the Holy Roman Empire,
held in Worms, Germany, to demand that Martin Luther retract his dissenting
views.
Urlich Zwingli — Leader of the Swiss Protestant Reformation.
Baptism — The Christian sacrament of bathing individuals in water to mark
their indoctrination to the Church.
Laity — The common and regular followers of a religion who are not
ordained or consecrated to perform religious worship services.
Transubstantiation — The change, according to Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox Christianity, of the bread and wine used during mass into
the body and blood of Christ.
Sacrament — The Catholic belief in outward signs instituted by Christ to
give grace.There are seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic tradition.The
Lutherans believe in just two of the seven.
Tithe — A tax, typically one-tenth of one’s income, given to support the
Church.
Heresy — An opinion or belief contrary to established church doctrine.
King James Version of the Bible — English translation of the Bible
published in 1611 under the auspices of James I of England, considered to be
the official version of the time and to be used in all British churches.
Predestination — Church doctrine stating that the fate of an individual is
predetermined by God.
Crosier — The pastoral staff of a bishop or an abbot, which symbolizes his
role as Christ’s shepherd and his responsibility to watch over the people in
his diocese.
Time Line ______________________________________
1517 C.E. — Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses, a statement of protest, on the
church door in Wittenberg, Germany, announcing to the world his discontent
with the Catholic Church and marking the beginning of the Protestant
Reformation.
1521 C.E. — Luther refuses to recant his beliefs in front of the Diet of
Worms and is excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
1529 C.E. — A unified German response protesting the decrees of the Diet
of Speyer, which attempted to require uniformity of worship in the Holy
Roman Empire, gives the name Protestant to the Reformation Movement.
1534 C.E. — The English Church under Henry VIII breaks with Rome. Henry
VIII becomes the head of the English Church.
1549 C.E. — The first edition of the Book of Common Prayer is published in
English under the direction of Thomas Cranmer,Archbishop of Canterbury,
making the prayer book accessible to the laity.
1555 C.E. — The Peace of Augsburg ends the religious wars in Germany
between the Lutherans and Catholics, allowing self determination of religious
practice based upon the religion of the ruler of each German principality.
1598 C.E. — The Edict of Nantes is signed in France, permitting the French
Protestants, known as the Huguenots, freedom of worship. The Edict is later
repealed, forcing the Huguenots to flee into remote areas of Europe and to
North America.
1611 C.E. — King James I of England sponsors the Authorized Version of the
Bible published in English, which becomes known as the King James Version
of the Bible.
1630 C.E. — To escape persecution and gain religious freedom, the Puritans
establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the New World.
1640s C.E. — Freedom of worship is won by reformed Protestants in
Germany and England.
1640s C.E. — George Fox founds the Society of Friends, the Quakers, in
England.
1689 C.E. — The English Act of Religious Toleration is passed, permitting
dissenters freedom of worship in England.
1770s C.E. — John Wesley begins the Methodist Movement within the
Church of England. After his death in 1791, Methodism becomes more
distant and independent from the Church of England.
1791 C.E. — The African Methodist Episcopal Church is established in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first church is Mother Bethel Church.
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Pre-viewing Discussion __________________________
• Discuss what conditions might have provoked a revolt against the Roman
Catholic Church in the 16th century by those who called themselves
Protestants.
• There are many sects of Protestantism (i.e. Lutheran, Baptist, Amish,
Episcopal etc.). Generate a list of the different factions and what students
believe to be their defining or distinguishing characteristics.
Focus Questions ________________________________
1. How did Protestantism originate in 16th-century Germany?
2. What two principles became the heart of the Protestant understanding of
Christianity?
3. What is the religious significance of the invention of the movable type
printing press?
4. Who are the principal leaders of the early Protestant Reformation?
5. What does the concept “priesthood of all believers” mean? What does it
not mean?
(Continued)
3
6. How did the Protestants regard the Bible? How did their views differ
from the Roman Catholic view of the Sacred Scripture?
7. How did the minister’s role change in Protestantism with regard to the
celebration of worship services?
8. Why did the Protestants place emphasis on the literacy of the laity?
9. What are the four distinct institutional forms of Protestantism?
10. What is the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation?
11. How does Luther’s teaching about transubstantiation differ from the
Roman Catholic doctrine?
12. Which two sacraments did Luther maintain as being valid? Which five
did Luther not accept as sacraments?
13. Why did Luther disregard the concepts of purgatory, honoring the
saints and indulgences?
14. What are the basic principles of Ulrich Zwingli’s Protestant belief?
15. What function did art and architecture play for the laity before the
Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church?
16. What model did John Calvin use for the organization of church leadership in his Protestant movement?
17. What are the four radical groups that emerged early in the
Reformation?
18. Who are the Anabaptists? What distinguishes them most from
Catholics?
19. How does the Church of England stand in regard to the Catholic
Church? What is similar and what is different about the two churches?
20. What did Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer contribute to
the Church of England?
21. Who are the Puritans and how did they fit into the Protestant
Reformation?
22. What are the beliefs held by the Quakers that made their faith radical?
23. What four qualities are present in Evangelical Christianity?
24. Who is John Wesley and what made him noteworthy?
25. What is the concept of predestination?
26. Who are Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson and Jonathan Edwards?
Specify their contributions to New England Protestantism.
27. How did Protestantism impact slavery in North America and affect the
development of African-American churches in the United States?
28. How has democracy and its values influenced Protestantism in the
United States?
Follow-up Discussion __________________________
• Discuss the role of the laity in the Protestant Church.
• Martin Luther believed that all vocations are equal in the sight of God.
Discuss the implications of this both in the 1500s and today.
• Discuss the role of Protestantism in the development of Colonial
America.
• Discuss the concept of predestination and how students feel about its
implications regarding free will, moral decisions and human responsibility.
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