Learning Objective Analyze the church’s role in Italy at the time of the Renaissance Key Points The Renaissance began in times of religious turmoil, especially surrounding the papacy, which culminated in the Western Schism, in which three men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. The new engagement with Greek Christian works during the Renaissance, and particularly the return to the original Greek of the New Testament promoted by Humanists Lorenzo Valla and Erasmus, helped pave the way for the Protestant Reformation. In addition to being the head of the church, the pope became one of Italy’s most important secular rulers, and pontiffs such as Julius II often waged campaigns to protect and expand their temporal domains. The Counter-Reformation was a period of Catholic resurgence initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. Terms