Luther's Ninety-Five Theses helped ignite which historical movement?

• A. Protestant Reformation
• B. Catholic Counter-Reformation
• C. Scientific Revolution
• D. Italian Renaissance

Answer: (A)

Luther's Ninety-Five Theses sparked a major religious upheaval that challenged the Catholic Church’s practices and authority. By arguing against the sale of indulgences and urging a return to scriptural authority, Luther opened a broad critique of church power and doctrine. The ideas spread quickly thanks to the printing press, fueling debate across regions and communities and giving rise to new Christian groups that emphasized faith, scripture, and a direct relationship with God. This collection of reforms became the Protestant Reformation, a movement that reorganized Western Christianity away from Roman authority.

The other movements are distinct: the Catholic Counter-Reformation arose as a Catholic response to the Reformation, not the spark that started it; the Scientific Revolution and the Italian Renaissance involve different shifts in science and culture that were not triggered by Luther’s theses.