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Source set · 8 sources ✓ Lesson ready

Was the Reformation a needed reform or a dangerous break?

Luther, Erasmus, and Calvin argue for change in the Church, while the Council of Trent and the Church of England answer with their own reforms and rules.

Timeline of key events →

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✓ Lesson ready

A ready-to-run lesson for this set: Mock Trial: The Case of the Reformation. Slides include a hook, one slide per source, directions, a take-a-stand vote, an exit ticket, and a teacher script in the speaker notes.

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1. Hook: a striking quote 3-5 min

Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?
Martin Luther, Ninety-Five Theses, thesis 86 (1517)

Ask: Luther said he was repeating a question ordinary people were asking. Was it a fair question to put in writing in 1517, or a dangerous one?

2. Main activity: Mock Trial: The Case of the Reformation

Grouping: Whole class in three teams: Defense of the reformers (6 to 8), Prosecution for the Church (6 to 8), and the Jury (the rest). The teacher or a student serves as judge.

Setup: The charge: “The reformers of the 1500s broke apart the Church instead of reforming it.” The Prosecution argues the charge is true; the Defense argues the break was a needed reform. The jury decides using only the evidence cards. This is a trial of historical arguments, not of anyone’s faith.

Materials (printables are in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Role cards (printable pages in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Evidence cards for all 8 sources (printable pages in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Jury ballot slips
  1. Assign roles 5 min
    Hand out role cards and evidence cards. Read the charge aloud.
  2. Prepare 10 min
    Each team chooses its three strongest evidence cards and writes its opening. Jurors preview all eight cards.
  3. Openings 6 min
    Two minutes per side. Every claim must name an evidence card.
  4. Witnesses and questions 10 min
    Each side reads its witness testimony for four minutes. The other side may ask two questions.
  5. Closings 6 min
    Two minutes per side.
  6. Verdict and discussion 8 min
    Jury votes by secret ballot. Announce the count. Ask two jurors which evidence decided their vote. Then use the take-a-stand slide with the whole class.
  7. Exit ticket 5 min
    Students answer on a slip before leaving.

Take a stand: Was the Reformation a needed reform or a dangerous break?

  • A needed reform: Luther wrote that people believed buying indulgences made them sure of salvation, and reformers argued believers should rely on Scripture and faith. Calvin said his followers were condemned without being heard.
  • A dangerous break: Erasmus criticized church leaders without leaving the Church. The Council of Trent warned that unguided Bible translations caused “more harm than good,” and the Catechism taught that one Church, guided by Scripture and tradition, protected believers.

3. Pacing options

15-minute bell-ringer

  • 3 min Hook: Luther’s thesis 86
  • 8 min Pairs compare two cards only: Luther’s letter to the Archbishop of Mainz and the Council of Trent’s Rule IV. What did each side fear?
  • 4 min Exit ticket question 1

Full 50-minute lesson

  • 4 min Hook: thesis 86
  • 5 min Assign roles and read the charge
  • 10 min Prepare
  • 6 min Openings
  • 10 min Witnesses and questions
  • 6 min Closings
  • 6 min Verdict, vote, and exit ticket
  • 3 min Buffer

4. Exit ticket

  1. Which ONE source would most likely have persuaded a person in 1520 to support the reformers or to stay loyal to the Church? Explain why.
  2. Erasmus and Luther both criticized church leaders. How were their approaches different?

5. Differentiation

Support

  • This set has no Adapted Docs yet; read key passages aloud or chunk them for struggling readers.
  • Give struggling readers only the bold quote on each evidence card, plus the guiding question.
  • Provide a word bank: indulgence, purgatory, vernacular, catechism, council, doctrine.
  • Sentence frame: “The strongest evidence that the Reformation was ___ is ___ because ___.”

Extension

  • The Church of England broke with Rome for different reasons than Luther. Using the Thirty-Nine Articles, explain how it was a third path.
  • The Council of Trent also reformed the Church from within. Research one Trent reform (for example, training priests in seminaries) and decide whether it answered Luther’s complaints.

Suggested sequence

  1. The Ninety-Five Theses (Martin Luther)
    Document · Wikisource · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Martin Luther's 1517 propositions against the sale of indulgences.
    Ask: Why did Luther's protest spread so quickly?
    Open with this source to frame the question.
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  2. Letter to Archbishop of Mainz [On Indulgences] (1517)
    Letter · Fordham University · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 5 min
    Luther wrote to the Archbishop protesting the sale of indulgences to finance the building of a new cathedral.
    Ask: What problems does Luther say the indulgence preaching is causing, and how does he ask the archbishop to respond?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  3. The Praise of Folly (1511)
    Document · Fordham University · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 30 min
    The Praise of Folly. A primary source from 1511, reproduced from Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg. It begins: "AS I WAS COMING awhile since out of Italy for England, that I might not waste all that time I was to..."
    Ask: Which practices of his day does Erasmus poke fun at, and why might he use humor instead of a direct attack?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  4. On the Freedom of a Christian (1520)
    Document · Fordham University · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 30 min
    On the Freedom of a Christian. A primary source from 1520, reproduced from Text from Henry Wace and C. A. Buchheim. It begins: "Among those monstrous evils of this age, with which I have now for three years been waging war, I am sometimes compelled..."
    Ask: What does Luther mean when he says a Christian is both completely free and a servant to all?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  5. John Calvin (1509-1564): Dedication of the Institutes of the Christian Religion , 1536
    Document · Fordham University · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 30 min
    John Calvin (1509-1564): Dedication of the Institutes of the Christian Religion , 1536. A primary source from 1536, reproduced from Prefaces and prologues to famous books. It begins: "To His Most Christian Majesty, FRANCIS, King of the French, and his Sovereign, John Calvin wisheth peace and salvation in Christ. When..."
    Ask: How does Calvin try to convince the King of France that the reformers are not a danger to his kingdom?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  6. The Thirty Nine Articles (1563)
    Document · Fordham University · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 23 min
    The Thirty Nine Articles. A primary source from 1563, reproduced from The Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It begins: "THE ARTICLES OF RELIGION (commonly referred to as "The Thirty-Nine Articles) as published (and annotated) in The Book of Common Prayer of..."
    Ask: How do these articles set the Church of England apart from both Rome and other Protestant churches?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  7. Council of Trent: Rules on Prohibited Books (1564)
    Document · Fordham University · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    Council of Trent: Rules on Prohibited Books. A primary source from 1564. It begins: "TEN RULES CONCERNING PROHIBITED BOOKS DRAWN UP BY THE FATHERS CHOSEN BY THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AND APPROVED BY POPE PIUS [1]..."
    Ask: What kinds of books did the Council restrict, and what reasons does it give?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  8. Council of Trent: Catechism for Parish Priests (1566)
    Document · Fordham University · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 30 min
    The work presented here is variously known as The Catechism of the Council of Trent, the Roman Catechism, or the Catechism of Pius V.
    Ask: What does this catechism ask priests to teach, and how does it answer Protestant arguments?
    Close with this source before writing.
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP

Culminating writing prompt

Using evidence from at least three sources in this set, write an argument that answers the question: “Was the Reformation a needed reform or a dangerous break?” Cite each source by title, explain how its author, audience, and purpose affect its reliability, and respond to at least one counterargument.

Printable writing sheet (make a copy)

Students can plan with the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning organizer.