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Influence of Leaders on Society

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Throughout history, the actions of leaders have changed the society in which they lived. These leaders have found themselves in situations where change was needed, and took actions to change that situation. Some of these leaders include Martin Luther in Western Europe (the Holy Roman Empire) and Napoleon Bonaparte in France. For most of the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church had domineering power in the everyday lives of people, from peasants to nobles. Martin Luther was a German Catholic monk during the end of the Middle Ages (the Late Middle Ages) and as time progressed, he became more and more disgruntled by some of the practices of the Church during that time period. One of the practices that he disagreed with most was the sale of indulgences, allowing people to “buy their way in” to heaven. Luther felt that the sale of indulgences was immoral and was not supported by the Bible or by church doctrines and dogma. In an attempt to change this situation, Martin Luther took action by posting his 95 Theses – a list of all the points that he disagreed with the Church on – and nailed it to the door of his local cathedral, for all to see. This, not surprisingly, did not go over well with church leaders, such as the Pope. In fact, it created a massive argument and debate within the Church, later known as the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther did not care for what the Roman Catholic Church had to say, for he had already founded the first of the Protestant churches, which was the Lutheran church. Eventually, in time, the Roman Catholic Church did reform, however, one of their first actions was the excommunication of Martin Luther. He, however, did not care, not being a member of the Roman Catholic Church anymore. So, it can be seen that Luther attempted, successfully, to change the practices of the Roman Catholic Church that he felt wrong, and did so by forming his own sect of the Christian faith. Another leader who attempted

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