Western Civilization I / Unit 15 WC1 1422 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Classifying a Confession: Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican, Anabaptist, Catholic
The idea
The exam describes a belief or practice and asks which confession holds it. The method is three questions: how is one saved, what are the sacraments, and who governs the church. Catholic: faith and works; seven sacraments; the pope. Lutheran: faith alone; baptism and communion with Christ present; the prince. Calvinist: faith alone by predestination; the same two, Christ present spiritually; elders and consistory. Anglican: Catholic ritual, Protestant headship; the monarch. Anabaptist: adult baptism; no state church at all.
In practice
Five cases. A congregation that baptizes only adults and refuses to swear oaths to the state: Anabaptist. A church whose prince chose its religion under the treaty of fifteen fifty-five: Lutheran or Catholic, since Augsburg allowed only those two. A city where elders fine citizens for dancing and teach that the saved were chosen before birth: Calvinist. A church with bishops, Latin-style liturgy, and a queen as supreme governor: Anglican. A church that reaffirmed indulgences while banning their sale: Catholic after Trent.
Where people slip
Augsburg's choice excluded Calvinists, which is why Calvinism spread as a minority faith and why unit 17's wars followed. And Anglican doctrine is the hardest to place, since the anchor calls it almost identical to Catholic in ritual; classify it by headship.
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