Martin Luther. Movement began in 1517AD, in which Roman Catholic priest Martin Luther disagreed with some teachings of the Catholic Church. He believed that people should have freedom to choose their own religious faith. Thus religious belief should only be accepted by personal choice not by force He thought too many religious ideas were forced on people, so he wanted to reform the church's teachings O Situation. The reformation continued to spread to other countries. Many more Protestant groups started in these countries, such as Lutherans in Germany, Huguenots in France, and Presbyterians in other countries like Scotland. One group in England called themselves "Puritans meaning " ones that purify. They wanted to stay in the Church of England, the national church, and make changes in it. Similarities. All of preach similar things such as individual responsibility to God, freedom of conscience, and the equality of all human beings. Human are equal because the Bible says they are all made in god's image This teaching raised the value of people as individuals in peoples thinking. Later in the US Declaration of Independence, Thomas jefferson wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." e The Enlightenment(18th cent.) The leaders were mostly thinkers and writers in Europe. The main point of this movement was using logic and human intelligence to discover truth to build a better world. Scientific discoveries made some people think that the human mind had no limits old tradition should be rejected. Enlightenment thinkers wanted to destroy two important authorities in society-the government and the Roman Catholic church The Enlightenment added several ideas that became part of American culture. Individualism was one. Another was the positive nature of change-the idea that things can and will be better when we work hard and use our minds. New scientific discoveries al so created a hopefulness for the future. The thinking was, The past is history: long live the future!"Finally, the Enlightenment' s concept of equality was very similar to what the Bible said, but had less religious importance to it.Martin Luther. Movement began in 1517AD, in which Roman Catholic priest Martin Luther disagreed with some teachings of the Catholic Church. He believed that people should have freedom to choose their own religious faith. Thus religious belief should only be accepted by personal choice, not by force. He thought too many religious ideas were forced on people, so he wanted to reform the church’s teachings. ◆ Situation. The reformation continued to spread to other countries. Many more Protestant groups started in these countries, such as Lutherans in Germany, Huguenots in France, and Presbyterians in other countries like Scotland. One group in England called themselves “Puritans”, meaning “ones that purify.” They wanted to stay in the Church of England, the national church, and make changes in it. ◆ Similarities. All of preach similar things such as individual responsibility to God, freedom of conscience, and the equality of all human beings. Human are equal because the Bible says they are all made in God’s image. This teaching raised the value of people as individuals in people’s thinking. Later in the US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”  The Enlightenment (18th cent.) The leaders were mostly thinkers and writers in Europe. The main point of this movement was using logic and human intelligence to discover truth to build a better world. Scientific discoveries made some people think that the human mind had no limits. Old tradition should be rejected. Enlightenment thinkers wanted to destroy two important authorities in society—the government and the Roman Catholic Church. The Enlightenment added several ideas that became part of American culture. Individualism was one. Another was the positive nature of change—the idea that things can and will be better when we work hard and use our minds. New scientific discoveries also created a hopefulness for the future. The thinking was, “The past is history; long live the future!” Finally, the Enlightenment’s concept of equality was very similar to what the Bible said, but had less religious importance to it