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German princes supported Martin Luther's idea because some shared the same beliefs and others just supported for selfish reasons.

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In England, Henry VIII declared himself head of the Church, and thus confiscated all the Catholic Church's property, distributing houses and land (and effects) to his nobility as a reward for good behavior. In the Holy Roman Empire, the princes of different kingdoms differed in belief, but one over-riding belief in those that turned against the Church was that they would prefer to keep all their income themselves instead of supporting a Pope in Rome. Those that accepted Martin Luther's urging to become "Evangelists" - his term for his new Church, emphasising a return to the purity of the New Testament - as rewritten and interpreted by Martin Luther) became defacto head of the Church's in their kingdoms - gaining an immense amount of land, buildings, income, and effects at practically no effort - a stupendous reward to apostatize!

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Zoie Bergstrom

Lvl 13
3y ago

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