Protestant Reformation
... Church. As the Church became more worldly, it focused more on culture and money instead of spirituality. The clergy felt that wealth and luxury was greater than religious duty and they were very self-indulgent. Nepotism, or giving relatives positions even if they weren't qualified for them, and simony, the selling and buying of Church offices, ran rampant. Also, two scandals, the Babylonian Captivity, when the papal court was transferred from Rome to Avignon, and the Great Schism, when there were actually three popes at one time cause irreparable damage. They opened the way for contempt and defiance and the authority of the Church greatly weakened. The "Renaissance Popes" were more interested in the arts than religion and many had illegitimate children and were incompetent. Some of these popes were Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII, Alexander VI, Julius, and Leo X. The immediate cause of the Reformation was the sale of indulgences. AN indulgence was a remission of all or some of the time to be spent in Purgatory due to punishment for sin in exchange for good works. It was a good idea, but it was perverted. A Dominican friar, Tetzel, was selling indulgences in Germany and made claims of remitting guilt as well as punishment. In response, Martin Luther protested nailing the "95 Theses" to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral, which cause an immediate outcry from the clergy. This caused Luther to be excommunicated by Pope Leo X and banned by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This was the final break with the Roman Church. Some people, considered forerunners of the Reformation came before Luther and influe...