Why Did People Join The First Crusades?

During the first Crusades many people joined the Crusaders because Pope Urban II said that God wanted them to. Also because of the spiritual reward like forgiveness of sins, and forgiveness of debts and an afterlife in heaven. On the other hand during the second and third Crusades many people joined for more selfish reasons. They only cared about them becoming rich and famous, and it began to become a lesser reason to join because of God and a greater reason because of wealth and fame. When the Crusades realized that all their sins would be forgiven they started to take it for granted. The Crusades were selfish because they were only seeking wealth, fame, and forgiveness of sins.
The Crusades were more selfish than selfless because they took all their riches and fame for granted. They started to frequently commit horrific crimes simply because they could, because they would have no sins. They didn’t care about killing people because as long as their in the Crusades, their sins would be forgiven. The Crusades “Actions demonstrate that these irregulars joined the Crusade for less than holy reasons… the latter abused the abundance of food,
They didn’t only fight for themselves, but for the Church and the Holy Land. “Those who took up the cross were recipients of both spiritual and earthly rewards. The spiritual reward was the indulgence, or forgiveness, of sins. The earthly rewards included plunder from conquest, forgiveness of debts, and freedom from taxes, as well as fame and political power. Crusaders did not only fight for control of the Holy Land; they also worked to secure the Church’s power in Europe”. The wars against the Muslims were promoted by various popes in Christ’s name and led by the Crusaders who took vows and received special privileges and luxury. So people joined the Crusaders for both selfish and selfless