In 1517, German monk Martin Luther wrote a document, termed the “95 Theses”, that questioned the corrupt practices of the Catholic Church and suggested that the Bible, not the Church, was the ultimate religious authority. Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1521, but his ideas had launched what would become known as the Protestant Reformation. Large numbers of German and Scandinavian Christians, often aided by ambitious political leaders, left the Catholic Church and became Lutherans. Martin Luther’s Reformation reshaped the political landscape of Europe as well, with conflicts between Protestant and Catholic rulers leading to the Wars of Religion, which would continue for more than a hundred years.
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