Hence, the protestant ideas appealed to many people.
The corruption of the Catholic Church also is also an important factor for the Reformation. The clergy were very important to people at that time as they administered the sacraments, guaranteeing salvation for the people. However, there were many anti-clerical movements due to issue such as simony, where posts where sold to the highest bidder rather than the best qualified, and Nepotism, where the clergy favour their own family and friends over others. The popes were also corrupted. Pope Alexander VI invited prostitutes to the Vatican and even secured a Kingdom for his son. Pop Leo X granted people indulgences for money instead of the people doing charity to pay for their indulgences. This was contrary to the Church teachings, and shows that the pope and clergy did not follow their vows. .
The Church was also the biggest landowner in Europe and is massively wealthy, due to tithes, indulgences, and monarchs' obligation to pay the Vatican. Due to the corruption of the Church, people were unhappy with the way that the Church was acting and began to oppose the Church. Both the monarchs and the new merchant class also felt threatened and angry at the wealth of the Church. An example would be Germany's princely states, where the Church exploited the most, having them to pay one of the most taxes. Hence, when there were calls for reforms, they supported it. Many monarchs stood to gain politically from the Reformation, hence they supported it by adopting Protestantism. The support from the monarchs was also very important for the Reformation. For instance, it was Prince Fredrick of Saxony who sheltered Luther, where he translates the Bible to German. It was very important as after that. Bibles in vernacular language were also spread around Europe, allowing many people to access the Bible for the first time. The Church held a lot of land and all the monarchs have the obligation to pay the Vatican.
