1491- The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, was founded by a Spanish nobleman, Ignatius of Loyola, 1491- 1556. Loyola was in many ways the antithesis of Martin Luther. Though he believed in Luther's fundamental interpretation of church theology, his means to attain salvation was born out of absolute adherence to …

1555- Though many reforms had occurred in the Catholic church there were those who tried to impose a structure based on past ideals. Pope Paul IV, 1555- 1559

was considered to be a counter-reformation pope because of his traditional interpretations of religious doctrine. Paul IV created the Papal Index and …

1525- Following the path paved by the Protestant Reforms the Anabaptists pushed for further reformation of church doctrine. Anabaptists tended to be peasants and working poor. The Anabaptists believed in adult baptism, rather than infant baptism, taking the approach that all believers were baptized into the church of their own …

1513- Spearheaded by Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformation set about to answer the question about what one must do to attain salvation. Luther believed that church theology which included the seven sacraments set an impossible task before good people who might deserve salvation. Luther's idea was that the "justice of …

1348- The Flagellant movement emerged as a result of the Black Death. The Flagellants believed that the Black Death was a punishment meted out by God to force atonement for the evils and sins of the European people. The Flagellant were especially popular in Germany. They wandered from town to …

1215- The Spanish priest, Dominic de Guzm'an, 1170- 1221, established the order of the Dominicans. Dominic believed that monks should be educated to defend against the many heresies of the middle ages.