Question

in 1517, luther wrote a list of some of the practices of the catholic church that he thought should be debated publicly. according to legend, luther nailed this list to the door of a church in wittenberg, germany. then, he shared his list of ideas with his friends. he also sent copies to several church leaders. luther called his document the ninety - five theses (theses are arguments or propositions). luther’s ideas spread quickly throughout germany. this was partly because of johannes gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. the printing press made it possible to print information quickly and cheaply. pamphlets explaining luther’s ideas spread across germany.
reaction to luther’s ideas
church leaders were angry with luther. the pope ordered luther to recant, or take back, what he had written. luther refused to recant. the pope excommunicated him. this meant that luther was officially out of the church. he could not attend worship services. he could not receive communion, a catholic ritual. he could not be forgiven for his sins. charles v, the holy roman emperor and a german king, declared luther an outlaw. luther went into hiding in the castle of a german prince. luther had hoped to change the church. instead, he was banished by both religious and political leaders.
while in hiding, luther translated the bible into german. this way, more people could read it. he continued writing. he kept on trying to change the church. his ideas gained support throughout germany. over time, people began forming new churches based on his ideas. as a result, these new churches became known as lutheran churches. many ordinary people followed luther’s ideas. they wanted to be closer to god. they also felt that the catholic church was too corrupt. some german princes also supported luther’s ideas. they believed the catholic church had become too powerful. they wanted power for themselves.
a new church
people who joined luther in protesting against the church became known as protestants. the movement to change, or reform, the church became known as the protestant reformation. at first, luther and other protestants had only wanted to change the catholic church. however, they ended up creating a number of brand - new protestant churches.
one of the central effects of the protestant reformation was a shift of political power away from the catholic church. this happened because many protestants viewed the catholic church as dishonest. many common people worried that the church was more concerned with benefiting itself than helping people. this shift led to independent, self - governing congregations, or groups of believers. these protestants did not use catholic tradition as their guiding authority. they looked to the bible to guide religious and political actions instead. not all people were considered equal under the catholic church. some were considered to be spiritually better. one such example is the pope. the reformation’s ideas of religious equality did not lead to political equality in protestant kingdoms. but the reformation still gave common people greater power in their religious practice. it also introduced questions about why and how leaders held power.
the reformation also benefited some powerful leaders in europe. kings and nobles in many parts of western europe sided with the protestant reformers. this is because the reformation meant they no longer had to share power with the catholic church and the pope. they were able to take land and other property from the church. this helped to increase the nobles’ own power. the reformation made individual leaders more wealthy and powerful. but it also spread power across many protestant regions. another result was that protestant kings no longer had the blessing of a powerful, central church. this took away the religious explanations for their political power.
what did martin luther do about his opinions related to the church?
how did the printing press help martin luther?
what did the pope order ml to do after his opinions were made public?
what does excommunicated mean?
what did ml do while in hiding?
what reasons were given for why people agreed with ml’s ideas?
why is this era called the protestant reformation?
what was ml’s goal when he started discussing his opinions?
how did this movement impact the political power of the catholic church?
how did this movement impact followers and protestant believers?
why did many kings and nobles support the protestant reformation?

Explanation:

Since there are multiple sub - questions related to the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther, we will use the Answer - Explanation Format (as these are questions about history and religion, falling under Social Science, specifically History and Religion subfields) to answer them one by one:

Sub - question 1: What did Martin Luther do about his opinions related to the church?

In 1517, Luther wrote a list of some Catholic Church practices he thought should be debated (the Ninety - Five Theses). He nailed it to a church door in Wittenberg, shared it with friends, and sent copies to Church leaders. His ideas spread, and later he refused to recant his writings when ordered by the pope, continued writing and trying to change the Church while in hiding, and translated the Bible into German.

Johannes Gutenberg's printing press made it possible to print information quickly and cheaply. Pamphlets explaining Luther's ideas were printed and spread across Germany, which helped his ideas gain more attention and spread rapidly.

Church leaders were angry. The pope ordered Luther to recant (take back what he had written). When Luther refused, the pope excommunicated him (officially removed him from the Church).

Answer:

In 1517, Luther wrote the Ninety - Five Theses (a list of Church practices to debate), nailed it to a church door, shared with friends, sent to Church leaders. Later, he refused to recant his writings, continued writing, tried to change the Church, and translated the Bible into German while in hiding.

Sub - question 2: How did the printing press help Martin Luther?