Since Pope Urban II sold the first indulgence, a “ticket” out of purgatory, in 1095, the Catholic Church has been overrun with corruption and malfeasance. Popes and priests took advantage of this broken system, in which they would profit at the expense of the common man. It was not until 1510 when Martin Luther, a devout Catholic monk who was having trouble with his faith, visited the holy city of Rome that change truly began. Instead of finding a holy city, he found ubiquitous greed, corruption, and poverty. Luther, a biblical scholar, was dismayed at the Church’s phony practices, including indulgences, excommunication, and interdict. Luther believed the Church’s actions contradicted God’s teachings, and he intended to correct the broken
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After the Edict of Nantes concluded the Protestant Reformation in 1598, the Kings lost a substantial amount of their power to the nobles, princes, and peasants. Since the beginning of Luther’s revolutionary movement, he preached for equality, both within the Church and within the social hierarchy of Europe. Luther gained popularity among peasants because equality was a crucial principle of Protestantism. The peasants’ uprising against secular authority began in 1381 with the Peasants’ Revolt, which started the end of serfdom. Peasants were not adequately satisfied, and in 1525, they created The Twelve Articles Of The Peasants of Swabia and stated Luther’s works in a demand to gain additional rights. The Articles stated, “in the future we should have power and authority so that each community should choose and appoint and pastor, and that we should have the right to depose him should he conduct himself improperly.” The remaining 11 articles, cited the peasants demand for lower taxes, more rights, and overall, more equality within European society. This was highly detrimental to the King’s secular authority, as peasants and lower-class citizens virtually stopped obeying the King until they had been promised equality. The peasants often were successful in their demands, as the peasants accounted for a significant majority of the population. In 1534, matters improved greatly for the Kings, when King Henry VIII of England created the Church of England. This was revolutionary, as it was the first time in the Renaissance Era that a major monarch in Europe had converted from Catholicism and escaped the influence of the Church. King Henry VIII’s creation of the Church of England was declared in the Act of Supremacy. The Act of Supremacy states, “Be it enacted by authority of this present Parliament that the King of our sovereign land
After the Edict of Nantes concluded the Protestant Reformation in 1598, the Kings lost a substantial amount of their power to the nobles, princes, and peasants. Since the beginning of Luther’s revolutionary movement, he preached for equality, both within the Church and within the social hierarchy of Europe. Luther gained popularity among peasants because equality was a crucial principle of Protestantism. The peasants’ uprising against secular authority began in 1381 with the Peasants’ Revolt, which started the end of serfdom. Peasants were not adequately satisfied, and in 1525, they created The Twelve Articles Of The Peasants of Swabia and stated Luther’s works in a demand to gain additional rights. The Articles stated, “in the future we should have power and authority so that each community should choose and appoint and pastor, and that we should have the right to depose him should he conduct himself improperly.” The remaining 11 articles, cited the peasants demand for lower taxes, more rights, and overall, more equality within European society. This was highly detrimental to the King’s secular authority, as peasants and lower-class citizens virtually stopped obeying the King until they had been promised equality. The peasants often were successful in their demands, as the peasants accounted for a significant majority of the population. In 1534, matters improved greatly for the Kings, when King Henry VIII of England created the Church of England. This was revolutionary, as it was the first time in the Renaissance Era that a major monarch in Europe had converted from Catholicism and escaped the influence of the Church. King Henry VIII’s creation of the Church of England was declared in the Act of Supremacy. The Act of Supremacy states, “Be it enacted by authority of this present Parliament that the King of our sovereign land