The Church had great power over people during the Middle Ages because?

Answer 1

Everyone was scared shitless of the plague and raiders.

Answer 2

There are a number of reasons for this. Here are a few.

1) The Catholic Church had a standing army as well as a hit squad. They were very powerful and used that power to control politics as well as the people. Look to the history of the Cathars to see this in action. Also there was a papal hit against Elizabeth 1 that was unsuccessful.

2) There was no separation between church and state. All European countries were affiliated with the church and all monarchs were blessed and given power through the pope. Look to the history of Henry V111 to see this in action.

3) Education was not afforded to the masses and even if a specific individual had the unprecedented opportunity to get an education, books were extremely expensive because they were produced by hand.

Historically, it wasn't until Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440 that society moved into the Renaissance. In fact, the word Renaissance means, renewal or rebirth. This was in part due to books being more affordable and available to the masses.

Answer 3

No one was educated apart from the very rich who just saw religion as an opportunity to exploit more money out of the poor. The poor (vast majority of the population in the Medieval ages) didn't want to believe that this was all there was. Imagine how you would feel if you were told that this was your lot in life. To work hard all day, earn nothing and die at the age of 28. They wanted to believe that when they died they would end up with huge mansions and whatever they wanted, a completely perfectly legitimate wish (despite being completely illogical in my view but that doesn't matter since the question is not asking about my beliefs).

Answer 4

The Church was the last remnant of far-ranging organizational structure left over from the collapse of the Roman Empire. Without it, Europe would have returned to its previous state: primitive tribal warfare.

It wasn't the best situation, but Europeans were allowed to cultivate crops with more certainty that they could harvest the results, and were able to build cities, towns, and re-invent the large-scale complexities which are the hallmark of civilization.

Answer 5

Because most people were illiterate and couldn't read the bible, so the Church was able to scare the living crap out of them by interpretting everything in the bible as basically "you're going to hell no matter what you do...except us because we're priests, we're not going to hell."
And nothing against the Church, I'm Catholic, but things got pretty corrupt back then...kind of like the U.S. government is now and has been since JFK was assassinated.

Answer 6

because it had accumulated great wealth, power and influence over a very naturally superstitious populace at a very superstitious time in human history that continued more or less unabated until the renaissance which began bringing other truths to light slowly and surely until the present time of progressive, enlightened thinking. today, the church is still with great power and influence, but has taken a definite back seat to science with respect to the origins of the universe and life itself.

Answer 7

ignorance,the persecution they perform to the people who dare to say something different from the church point of view and the power they had as a social institution

Answer 8

because every 1 on the middle ages was religeous and bibles erent freely readable so the religeous leaders said if u dont do what i say u will get smited (basicly thats the dumbewd down version)

Answer 9

The Spanish Inquisition was a fun time.

Answer 10

the lesbians were in charge of the church? or the pope and priests were gay back then too and the little boys couldn't report them to the police? i was one messed up church back then. well, it still is isn't it?