Question

How did owning large amounts of land affect the roman catholic church

Answer 1

Answer:

It depends on the time period.

Explanation:

Of the time periods I can think of:

Pre-Martin Luther- This would have benefitted the Roman Catholic Church because at the time they were the main governing body along side the Roman Emperor. This land would have added to their prestige and they had another means of revenue to raise money for the church and give their staff (bishops, pope, etc.) a big pay out.

Martin Luther's 95 thesis- The large amounts of land and revenue that the land is generating for the Catholic church will be detrimental to it's image when Martin Luther calls them out on their greediness. He warns against the Church taking money on indulgences and being greedy with what they own, so the large amounts of land will reflect poorly on them, especially because they could have helped the poor instead of renting the land out.