The Protestant Reformation, instigated by Martin Luther in 1517 to 1555, was a radical challenge to disturb Europe: threatening the political power of Charles V as the candidate of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Spain, threatening the religious power of the Pope, and the authority of the original Catholic faith, through new interpretation of scripture. The original goal of Martin Luther was to stop the selling of indulgences, by Pope Leo X. This prompted the outbreak of various new variations of Christianity, threatening the authority and influence of Catholicism. The discontinuation of the sale of indulgences also risked the authority of Charles V. He received financial support from the Fuggers, who gained their sudden rise to power through …show more content…
Further showcasing how the Protestant Reformation was a radical effort to establish new hierarchies. The rise of many new religions threatened the Holy Roman Empire's unity of religion. Before the rise of many new religions, people had mainly followed Catholicism and so it was extremely stable. However, the rise of many new types of religion threatened the stability of the Holy Roman Empire and Catholicism itself. An apologia released in 1524 by Katharina Schutz Zell, a protestant reformer (Document 3), shows the protestant support towards Clerical marriage, an idea Catholic officials are extremely against. The rise of this new idea and support for it displays the instability of Catholicism in religion. This is further displayed in a description made by Nicholas Sander, a Catholic Theologian, in 1566. He describes the tarnishment of many religious, particularly Catholic, belongings. The destruction of religious belongings, made by Nicholas Sanders, shows a people's revolt against Catholicism and so instability of Catholicism challenging whether or not Catholicism should be the lead