Why did Germany respond so rapidly to Luther's message?

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view all our essays on Places of Worship that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

Why did Germany respond so rapidly to Luther's message?

The beliefs of Martin Luther, and therefore the ideas of the German Reformation, spread rapidly across a great deal of North Germany. At a time of poor communication and transport the speed and spread of it was remarkable. This rapid response was due to a number of religious, political, social and economic factors.

During the 16th century religion had a profound influence on peoples' lives. As dissatisfaction with the church grew, people increasingly began to question the role of the church.

Within the Catholic religion the church was seen as the only source of salvation. It manipulated this powerful position to control people and raise money through means such as indulgences and high taxes.

Luther pointed out that the population of Germany were funding the corrupt religious capital of Rome and that they were being taken for granted.

He illustrated that vast sums of money generated through high taxes were flowing out of Germany towards Rome, which could have been put to very good use in the states that formed Germany.

He was also very concerned about indulgences. In