The Protestant Reformation has affected the world and the way we practice Christianity today. Due to Martin Luther, corruption in the catholic church, and the printing press, The catholic church was reformed. Without the reformation, many things such as democracy and the splitting of the religious control of Europe wouldn’t have occurred. One of the major causes of the Protestant Reformation was the corruption of the Catholic Church. Leaders and Higher-ups in the Catholic Church were corrupt and greedy, taking bribes and not having the church's best interests in mind. Martin Luther also criticized the Pope for having too much power over the church and politics. Many citizens were upset by the church, but Martin Luther was the only one to …show more content…
Luther's idea about reformation for the catholic church was able to spread far with the invention of the printing press. Luther's writings would get sold to people on paper and those people would go on to make more copies. Luther became a celebrity and was protected by those in charge of the printing press. Without the printing press, Luther's idea would not have spread and he would have been burned at the stake for going against the church. A major effect of the Protestant reformation is Europe's religious unity is shattered. The catholic church was spilt and new forms of Christianity emerged. Multiple wars and civil disagreements broke out between the new religions. Thousands of women, men, and children were tortured and killed, and there was no way for the religions to coexist peacefully. Wars between the different European countries also occurred and finally ended around 1648. Lastly, one of the most important effects of the Protestant Reformation is democracy. After hearing Luther's ideas about everyone being equal in the eyes of god, peasants started to rebel. Luther did not support these rebellions and protests, but it didn’t stop the peasants. The idea of equality and everyone having a say in the government stuck with the people. After the Reformation, the style of government began to change, into one with less of a central religious authority, into one where the people had a