Key Points:

• Corruption in the Catholic Church (indulgences, simony) leading to Luther’s 95 Theses (1517).

• Luther’s sola fide (faith alone) vs. Catholic sacramental theology.

• Calvin’s predestination and the rise of Puritanism.

• The Catholic Counter-Reformation (Jesuits, Council of Trent).

• Legacy: How Protestantism shaped democracy, capitalism, and individualism.