During the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church had to dominate power over the majority of Europe; people looked to it for guidance and protection, and for a time it was given. However, church authorities became corrupt and started making bad changes, causing discontent and false beliefs to fall upon the people, thus beginning the Renaissance. During this time, many people began to go against the actions of the church, splitting off from it and starting new churches, and spreading new ideas. The main reasons that so many people left the church during the Renaissance are due to the spread of ideas, the pope’s corrupted rule, and the indulgences being sold in the church.
The spread of ideas throughout Europe at the time caused many people to leave the church. Martin Luther, a German man who was against the church, wrote what was called the “95 Theses,” statements going against the church’s selling of indulgences, or a way to buy your way out of hell (doc 2). These arguments directed at the church spread quickly throughout Western Europe, creating a stir among the Christians. One reason they spread so quickly was because of the recent invention of the printing press. The printing press made the spreading of information from place to place much faster and easier. The 95 Theses were quickly distributed throughout the continent, thus causing a large multitude of people to turn away from the church. The spreading of ideas was greatly influential to the large amounts of people withdrawing from the church.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
The pope’s corrupted rule over the majority of Europe during the Renaissance was a big incentive for people to leave the church. The popes of the church were very thirsty for power at the time, and often made rules that forced people to listen to the pope if they wanted salvation (doc 7). The pope had total and absolute power over the people, and they were the ones who decided who did and didn’t go to heaven. During the Renaissance, many skills were introduced and learned, and the practice of some of these skills became very popular. One such skill was the production of plays; hundreds, if not thousands of plays were written and performed as a source of entertainment. Some made fun of society and portrayed certain aspects of civilization. In one such play, two people discuss the pope and how he is too powerful (doc 1). This is a great example of the general idea that the popes were considered very powerful, and many people disliked that. The pope’s corrupt rule was a key reason that people left the church.
The indulgences that were sold by the church caused outrage in the community and caused many people to leave the church. People bought indulgences to lessen their sins, and all the money used was brought straight to the pope. It was very popular among Christians, so much so that money had to be constantly made to keep up with the demand for indulgences (doc 4). Indulgences were a big hit among the Catholics at the time, and they began to spread to surrounding areas and countries. Eventually, the pope’s façade was removed when Martin Luther published the 95 Theses against Indulgences (doc 1). The true purpose of the indulgences was revealed to the public, instantly causing confusion and turmoil amidst the Christian community. Martin Luther almost instantaneously became a target of the church. He was summoned to the Diet of Worms, a council of German princes, where he was forced by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to give up his writings who accused him of heresy. Martin responded by telling him that the Germans would not tolerate the abominations of the church (doc 5). He was very resilient and had the support of many followers who believed in his teachings about the church. One argument that was brought up before the diet compared the church authorities to greedy shepherds whose only care was to sell their flock’s wool for money (doc 3). His claims caused many to depart from the Church and convert to Lutheranism, the church that Martin had founded, which removed many parts of Roman Catholicism and introduced some of his own beliefs. The indulgences sparked distrust and opposition against the church and caused many to leave.
The main reasons that so many people left the church during the Renaissance are due to the spread of ideas, the pope’s corrupted rule, and the indulgences being sold in the church. This major event in the Middle Ages is not the only of its kind that has happened – the Holocaust caused many to have false beliefs and created much disunity and confusion in the world. Many were led to believe in false ideas, such as the Jews being evil, or that they were doing the world a favor by ridding it of the Jewish people. It is similar due to the false ideas and concepts that were being taught and lived.
Stuck on your essay?
