Why did Lutheranism gain widespread support?

Answer 1

I would argue that it didn't.


The Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination today, with 1.2 billion members worldwide. It dwarfs the Lutheran Church, as it always has.

Now I am not here to bash Lutherans, yes I am a Catholic but we all worship the same God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I'm not saying that the Lutheran Church doesn't have anything that would make someone become one either, we just need to be perfectly honest here.

The Lutheran Church only really took off in certain countries, Germany and the Scandinavian countries mainly. And if you know your medieval history, there is a direct connection between those countries widely adopting Luther's ideas and their kings/rulers having personal grievances with the Pope at the time. I won't go into what those grievances were, let's just say it had nothing to do with faith and everything to do with money.

In other words, Luther's movement took off big when and where the ruling kings wanted it too, just like almost every other religious movement.

Answer 2

Great question!

I believe it was for multiple reasons:

1. Luther had a powerful ally in Frederick the Wise, who was LOOKING for a way for Germany to sever ties with Rome. Make no mistake, it wasn't for religious reasons, it was for political ones...the religion was merely a good reason for the severance

2. The invention of the printing press made it easy for the public to read Luther's works.

3. Luther's translation of the Bible into the everyday German language made it possible for many in the Holy Roman Empire to see just how messed up the Catholic Church had become.

Answer 3

Because the Catholic church had become so corrupt that money had to exchange hands even for confessions to be heard, marriages performed, sins purged. This of course made the church and "sacred" rituals available only to the wealthy including burials in church yards or in the church itself (the closer to the altar one was buried, it was thought then, the greater the likelihood of entering heaven). Martin Luther and hosts of others became fed up with the corruption and conspiracy between the church/politics and the rich.