Before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, people were at the mercy of the church. The Catholic Church ruled over the people of Europe. They used their religious authority to tell people how they were supposed to live and governed the people by not allowing them to have a say. With the invention of the printing press, Martin Luther led the establishment of the Protestant Reformation by questioning the church and its authority. Scribes were only able to copy religious text by hand and it was an arduous undertaking. The printing press gave Martin Luther the ability to spread his dissent to a great number of people throughout Europe. The Catholic Church resisted the production of bibles because they knew it would greatly diminish their
