WHY WERE THE WEAKNESSES OF THE EARLY 16TH CENTURY CHURCH SO DEEPLY RESENTED IN GERMANY IN 1517?

        The majority of resentment felt in Germany was about the structure and organisation of the Church. The Papacy, wishing to maintain its power in the face of competition from Habsburg and Valois attempts to dominate Italy, needed a great deal of money. Germany was the perfect source for this due to the lack of a centralised government, the Pope was paid by ruling German families seeking positions in the Church and from others areas over which the Church had control, for example matters relating to marriage and inheritance. The impact of this on the laity was an increase in the extraction of money from them. The heavy taxation was therefore a real and major concern for all in Germany, and one of the main causes for the resentment felt towards the Catholic Church. It seemed as if the Church’s focus was on money rather than the spiritual wellbeing of its followers, the major interest of the clergy, especially higher up where the entering the Church was often a career choice rather than a  result of religious conviction. This widespread feeling of anticlericalism was the main reason for the deep resentment felt towards the Catholic Church in Germany in 1517.

        An increase of nationalistic feelings was mainly a result of the extortionate taxes imposed by the Papacy on Germany; many felt that it was unfair that their money was being used for the rebuilding of a cathedral and whatever else the Pope wished to do with it far away in Italy. German proto-nationalism was growing because of and causing the growth of anticlericalism and especially anti-Papalism. This growth was certainly a major reason for the great resentment felt towards the Church in 1517.

        Within Europe the humanist movement had become increasingly important. The work of scholars such as Erasmus, who travelled extensively spreading his beliefs about the importance of returning to texts which were as near to original as possible, he also criticised the behaviour of churchmen in his satire In Praise of Folly, his work was read and supported by many, this influx of new ideas about the Church could cause a greater understanding of the problems with the Church and result in a desire for reform.  Erasmus’ work was published in Latin in the early 16th century and intended for a scholarly audience, they would have mainly influenced the ruling classes rather than all of Germany but would still have made the idea of speaking out against the Church and anticlericalism much more acceptable ideas in German society as a whole.

When Martin Luther pinned his Ninety Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg in 1517 he was presenting his ideas to a very receptive audience.  Heavy Papal taxation of Germany and the resulting increase in anticlericalism and proto-nationalism combined with minor concerns over abuses within the church created a real and deep resentment towards the Church. The works of humanist scholars, which were generally accepted and indeed welcomed by rulers in Europe, meant that feelings of anticlericalism and anti-Papalism were an accepted reaction and enabled the spread of resentment caused by intense taxation by a foreign power and abuses within in the Church resulting in the deep resentment felt towards the Church in 1517.