Luther had many criticisms of the Catholic Church and believed that it needed reforming. Many of his ideas were similar to earlier reformers like Erasmus. His criticisms were all about the fact that the Church was gaining too much money. He believed that the Church should allow people to read the bible in their own language. He claimed that purgatory did not exist and that Priests did not need to be celibate. He thought that religion should be the authority of the ruler of that country and not the Pope's in Rome. He also believed that church services should be simple and easy to understand for the ordinary people.
Martin Luther had a bad relationship with the Pope and Holy Roman Emperor because he criticised the way the Church was run and how the church gained its money. He believed that the church needed reforming but the Pope disagreed. On the other hand he had a very good relationship with the Elector of Saxony, which saved his life. The elector of Saxony liked Luther's ideas, as he would gain all the churches land and money in his country and he also genuinely wanted to reform the Church. Many other princes backed him for the same reasons.
Luther's ideas were spread during the wars of religion and also in political battles. Many ordinary people learned of his ideas through books made in the printing press. The fast spreading of his ideas allowed people to get a strong idea of the religion before the Church could stop him. Many nobles and merchants learnt about it at the Diet.
The wars of Religion happened between 1531-1555. These wars were between Catholics and Protestants. Luther would have wanted to break away from the Church quietly but the Holy Roman Emperor wanted them to stay with the Catholics so he went to war. These wars ended in 1555 with the treaty of Augsburg.
Luther "s affect on the world today is clearly visible in religion today. In way that the Christian Church is divided between Roman Catholic and Protestants. This division is because of Luther"s ideas on what the religion should be like. He believed differently to the Pope and so started up his own religion.
