Two pages of the 95 Theses
The Protestant Reformation was a schism from the Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, Henry VIII of England, and several other reformers. These reformers created the Protestant denomination of Christianity, consisting of smaller churches and sects such as Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, and Presbyterianism. In 1517, Luther's The Ninety-Five Theses were published, being nailed to the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt. Luther believed that Christianity was corrupted by the Catholic Church, disagreeing with the Pope's sale of "indulgences" (absolution of sin) and widespread corruption in the clergy (sale of churh offices, paying priests that did no work, giving control of churches to priests who had never been there to perform services, and nepotism). The Reformation began in Germany, where Luther began preaching, and around 70% of German nobles supported him. However, the Church later abolished its taxation on Catholic rulers, leading to many rulers returning to Catholicism. The "Counter-Reformation" would begin in response to the rise of Protestantism, but Protestantism would become the dominant religion in northern Europe and England.
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