1. Corrupt Church During Medieval times, the Catholic Church owned a good portion of the land in Europe Church leaders needed large amounts of money to maintain the church Begin to see people get angry about how the church made money and spent the money

2. Europeans Upset Many Europeans who lived outside of Italy began to have issues with the church Upset with the church not paying any taxes on its landholdings Upset with Indulgence (relaxation of earthly penalty for sin and were sold in the church) Popes spent money on supporting the arts and their own personal pleasure

3. Reformers Take a Stand During 14 th & 15 th centuries numerous reformers began to speak out England, John Wycliffe began to call for Church reform Questioned the pope’s right to levy taxes and appoint Church officials without the Kings approval

4. Desiderius Erasmus Urged people to pursue the true Christian faith Criticized officials for neglecting Christian values Criticized reformers for trying to divide the church His ideas were not trusted by either the Catholic Church or reformers