How Did Religion Cause Rebellion In Germany

Religion has been seen to cause rebellion throughout history due to individual views and the willingness to fight for those views. Leading up to the peasants’ war, there are many stepping stones that made war in the era inevitable. The first major problem was the differences in upper and lower class Germany before and during the reformation, these differences are the first and most important issue that started the religious violence and uprising in Germany. Next Martin Luther, somewhat subconsciously, gave the people a reason to fight with his reformation ideas and drove the peasants’ war. Luther never would say which side he believed in but took full advantage of the war. Lastly, the peasants’ war began and it ended up helping the reformation.
Lower class Germans had a time of prosperity in the early fifteenth century due to landowners leasing their lands instead of doing the work themselves and left the lands with relaxed political holds, “The result was stronger communal institutions, as villages and towns assumed greater control over their own affairs.” (Pg. 4) However, around mid-fifteenth century the German economy shifted with population dramatically increasing. This inflation increased rent, entry fines, and political control in favor of the landowners and then citizens were split into economic gaps of prosperous peasants and cottagers/day laborers. “German commoners confronted deteriorating economic and social conditions, a period of adversity after one of prosperity.” (Pg. 5) Luther arrived in this time of German inflation and a lot of his teachings attest to this. “All the estates of Christendom, particularly in Germany, are now oppressed by distress and affliction, and this has stirred not only me but everybody else to cry out time and time again and to pray for help.” (pg.50) Showing Luther’s problems and discomfort with church rulers helped gain a connection with the lower class people and is likely why his followers grew