Six Degrees of Separation – The Renaissance -- Treaty of Westphalia. (Bloem van Rooij)

Generating the spread of new religious ideas through Europe with the Renaissance's printing press, possibility for new religious outlooks were kickstarted: the immense power of the Catholic Church, which was previously accepted, was starting to be challenged, and new outlooks began to form.

The Renaissance was a movement of "rebirth" beginning in Italy and later moving through Northern Europe. The rediscovery of antiquity was taught as the study of humanism–the ideology that human reason and antiquity were crucial to society- spread through Europe.

During this movement the movable-type printing press was created. This invention and the ideas of the Renaissance were principle to the movement of religious ideas and philosophies for the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther's post of "95 Theses" to the church door in Wittenberg kickstarted the Protestant Reformation- inspired by the Renaissance ideas-, which posed a religious and political challenge to the Roman Catholic Church- particularly papal authority.
Luther's works criticism on the Catholic Church were printed on the Gutenberg movable-type printing press and spread quickly throughout Europe. Other leaders like Calvin and Zwingli who also questioned the pope's authority; Lutheranism gave hope to those wanting to break away from the power of the Catholic church.

Some nations took on Protestanism, since it granted some rights they desired.

Upon Luther's first criticisms, King Henry VIII defended the Catholic Church. However, this opinion suddenly changed upon wishing to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon. he pope denied this request because it was against cannon law. Therefore, King Henry VIII followed in Luther, Calvin, and other leader's footsteps and broke away from the authority of the pope since Protestant ideas did allow divorce. Then, he created the church of England, now known as the Anglican church, and passed the Act of Supremacy: whomever was in charge of the country, was also the head of the church.

Some disagreed with this movement and wanted Catholicism and its power back as the prominent religion. They believed Protestantism and the quick rise of it was misunderstanding Catholic ideas and was taking away rights from certain important people.

Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent has been described as 'the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation'; it was a gathering of bishops, leaders, and the pope that reformed within the Catholic Church. They focused on addressing and clarifying ideas that reformers like Luther and Calvin criticized.
Although the abuses that sparked the Protestant Reformation were mostly resolved and the Church regained many of its followers, the Council of Trent did not bring change quickly enough to reunite the religions completely.

The Counter Reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation, was was the period of Catholic resurgence in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent and largely ended with the conclusion of the European wars of religion in 1648. Pope Paul III, the pope at the time, created the Society of Jesus to educate the people on Church teachings in hopes of bringing them back to the Catholic Church and reclaiming its power.

Wanting to show that they were addressing these religious issues, the Peace of Augsburg was issued.
The Peace of Augsburg was a temporary treaty within the Holy Roman Empire that allowed each prince to determine his land's central religion: it, however, only included Catholicism and Lutheranism.

The peace was quickly made to create some religious tolerance, but the loopholes like this one were overlooked at first- the crave for religious power kept its prominence. It led to tensions that would eventually boil over and spark the 30 years war.

The 30 Years War was a long lasting war in European history that was caused by the building tension caused by the Peace of Augsburg. Ferdinand II, the Holy Roman Emperor, attempted to impose Catholicism on the protestants of Bohemia. Protestant leaders of other countries rebelled against the Holy Roman Emperor and fought in Germany for 30 years. When the Hapsburgs were becoming more and more powerful, the Catholic and Protestant rulers joined forces to weaken Hapsburg rule. The war became so political that the people were tired of fighting for "religion" when the war actually became predominantly about power, so, they called for a treaty of religious tolerance: the Treaty of Westphalia.

The Treaty of Westphalia recognized the independent authority of more than three hundred German princes, reconfirming the emperor's severely limited authority.
The Augsburg agreement of 155 became permanent, adding Calvinism to Catholicism and Lutheranism as legally permissible religions. This treaty marked the end of the 30 Years War in Europe and created lasting religious tolerance. Any hope that the Catholic Church had to reunite the religions was gone and Protestantism grew from there and the Catholic Church's power steadily declined.