How Did Martin Luther's Thinking Contribute To Empowerment

In what ways did Martin Luther’s thinking contribute to the empowerment of the individual?

Martin Luther believed that an individual could have a direct connection with God and reach Heaven after death without the intervention of a clergyman. The ultimate source of Christian belief was not in the Church, but rather, the Bible. At the time, the Catholic Church was behaving badly by scamming peasants into buying indulgences (Get Out of Jail cards for sins), allowing the Pope to lead a luxes and expensive lifestyle, as well as general corruption throughout the entire establishment. Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation in order for people to be able to have a direct connection with God. In the Protestant church, people are encouraged to read and think for themselves, not have a priest or pope do it for them.

In what ways did the Protestant Reformation transform European society, culture and politics?

Because Protestants believe that all occupations are of equal value, middle-class workers living in cities were given a religion that appreciates them (unlike Catholicism that values wealthy aristocrats). The German peasant revolts of the 1520s are an example of common people finally able to express their discontent with the wealthy clergyman. Protestantism spread out of Germany and split into many different secs: Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican, Quaker, and Anabaptist. France, and other countries as well, was religiously divided. The Huguenots (Protestant minority) were attacked and killed by French Catholics so much so that King IV issued the Edict of Nantes, which gave religious tolerance to the Huguenots. The Catholics later had a Counter-Refromation. In the Council of Trent, the Church’s rules were rewritten and