World History I Standards of Learning (SOL) Practice Test

The movement began from dissatisfaction with church practices and growing calls for reform by theologians such as Luther. Critics argued that the Catholic Church had become corrupt and far from its spiritual mission, with practices like the sale of indulgences seen as abuse. Luther and others challenged the authority of the pope and church traditions, emphasizing that salvation comes through faith and that the Bible should be the ultimate authority. His 95 Theses and subsequent writings helped spread these ideas quickly across Europe, especially with the help of the printing press, sparking a broader movement that led to the formation of Protestant denominations.

Expansion of trade routes to Asia and the invention of the steam engine belong to different historical developments—economic/global exploration and the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, respectively—and did not directly trigger the reform movement. Adoption of feudal obligations is an earlier medieval framework that doesn’t explain the triggered reform wave in the 16th century.