The Reformation: print and Scripture

Ages 9 to 12 Read alone or together · about 30 minutes

Read together

In 1517, Martin Luther in Germany posted arguments about church practice. Printing spread them fast.

Christians in Europe soon divided over authority, Scripture and worship, and today's churches still differ.

Do it

1. Draw a timeline from 1450 (the printing press in Europe) to 1517 and 1534 (the English Reformation).
2. Talk about how printing made books cheaper and let more people read the Bible in their own language.
3. Compare: how do Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians you know see Scripture and tradition?
4. Write how you could discuss differences kindly.

Talk about it

• How did printing change who could read?
• How can Christians disagree kindly?

For the grown-up

THEOLOGY AND HISTORY NOTE. The Reformation was a complex event with religious, political and economic causes, and it led to wars as well as renewal. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant families will tell the story differently. Present it fairly, and let your own tradition add its view. The posting of the 95 Theses on a church door is a traditional account that historians debate.

Mark as done

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Where this comes from

• MacCulloch, D., The Reformation: A History (Viking, 2003)
• Eisenstein, E. L., The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge University Press, 1983)
• Roper, L., Living I Was Your Plague: Martin Luther's World and Legacy (Princeton University Press, 2021)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.