How Did Catholic Church Influence Politics In Western Europe?

Throughout the Renaissance, pockets of people were dissent about the way the Catholic Church influenced politics in western Europe. Furthermore, the Catholic church increasing power and wealth allowed it to manipulate the political atmosphere which created an upheaval with many Christian groups. Due to this schism, religious leaders began reforming Christianity into a separate religion just like that of the Orthodoxias. Moreover, these splinter groups are often all categorized as Protestant because they all developed from the Reformation. Additionally, the two main protestant denominations were Lutheranism and Calvinism. Though these religions share common roots, they differ in beliefs. Although all these dominations differed in beliefs, they all agreed that Papal Supremacy in Europe was not a great thing and believed that …show more content…
Martin Luther, livid with the way Catholics use indulgences to pay for projects, wrote The Ninty-Five Theses which proclaimed that forgiveness was only achievable through God not by the Pope or any religious leader. Gradually, Luther began stating that salvation was only obtainable through believing in Jesus which made him unpopular enough to where he was excommunicated from the church and considered an outlaw by the Holy Roman Emperor. Though detested by the Catholics, many followers throughout German states began to follow his example and eventually he began to organize a church. This church made several changes, with a few being that the only sacraments were to be baptism and eucharist and promoted strong families with multiple kids. Martin Luther is the man who started the Protestant revolution and the two other theologies that carry some aspects of Luther’s