Causes

The abuses within the Church: There were several abuses within the Catholic Church, including simony, nepotism, absenteeism, pluralism and the sale of indulgences. The sale of indulgences was seen as the worst as it exploited the poor and the Church’s believers as well as corrupting true faith. These abuses made many people lose trust in the Church and demand reform.

Intellectual change: Renaissance humanism encourages people to focus on the potential and needs of humanity rather than religion. This encouraged people to begin questioning the Chruch’s authority and practises. The printing press allowed Reformation ideas to spread quickly and also increased literacy, allowing people to question the abuses within the Church.

Political change: Monarchs such as German princes wanted independece form the Catholic Church. They resented the wealth, power and amount of land the Catholic Church had and saw the Reformation as a way to weaken it. They also wanted to resist the power of the Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor