Throughout the Middle Ages, the lives of many Europeans revolved around religion. The Reformation was clearly to improve the Catholic Church by stopping the corruptions of the church. The Northern Christian Humanists before believed that the Christian faith had once been a simple religion, twisted through time and incompetent papal authority. Even though Martin Luther only wanted to make corrections in Faith, a separation occurred in the Christian Church. Reformers such as Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin became popular because they protested their right to practice their religion openly. The main causes that lead to the Protestant Reformation were the different church corruptions reformers were intent to bring back.
As a German monk who struggled with the Church's traditional beliefs, Martin Luther was the first reformer of the Protestant Reformation. Luther doubted the actions of the Catholic Church (Doc 1). Luther was captivated by the idea of salvation because of the selling of indulgences. As a result of the hawking of indulgences, Luther posts his 95 theses. Luther's 95 theses was a list of 95 questions regarding the abuses such as the selling of indulgences. This was an attempt to stop the Roman Catholic Church. As an eyewitness, Myconius spoke about the quick spread of Luther's ideas (Doc 3). Myconius claimed Luther's ideas were to be followed by Christians. He supported Luther and was .
a reliable source who also believed the church was corrupted. As a result of the 95 Theses Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire labeled Luther a heretic (Doc 7). As a result to the accusation of him being a heretic, Luther proves his innocence. One example he gives of the pope not following the rules, is that Pope Julius II holding more than one office as a church official went greatly against his job of being a spiritual leader.
Later Protestant reformers joined the protest for a rebirth of the Catholic Church.