There are many types of Protestant churches in existence today, including Baptist, one of the largest denominations in America. This was not always the case before 16. To understand how it all began, it is important to go back in history, when the Roman Catholic Church was the only church in Western Europe. This article will examine the history of the Protestant Reformation movement, its causes, and how it changed the church (Cameron, 2012). During the 1500s, the Roman Catholic Church was very powerful in Western Europe. The church controlled both spiritual and political matters, although there were numerous other political forces at work. Initially, the reformation began as an attempt to reform the church by a number of priests who disagreed with what they believed to be false doctrines and ecclesiastical negligence. The reformers were particularly opposed to the sale of indulgences as well as the sale and purchase of ecclesiastical offices, which they perceived as corruption within the church. Between 1300 and 1400 the church was tormented by internal power struggles and was governed by 3 Popes simultaneously. The Popes, who held that temporal and spiritual powers would command armies, make political alliances, and even wage wars. With corruption and power struggles, the Church did little for the people, which led to a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church through a number of individuals that included John Wyclif and Jan Hus among others. But it was only when Martin Luther, a German Augustinian monk, posted 95 Theses on the door of the church in the university city of Wittenberg, that the movement began to gain followers in Scandinavia, Scotland, the German states and even in some... of the sheet ... stated that Germany and many lives were lost. On the bright side, the Reformation had a lot of influence on the personal lives of many and led to the formation of today's Protestant churches. Works CitedBrake, Mary Jo; Weaver, David (2009). Introduction to Christianity (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. pp 92–93. Isbn 978-0-495-09726-6.Cameron, euan (2012). European reform (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.Simon, Edith (1966). The great eras of man: the reform. Books about life at the time. Pp 120–121. Isbn 0-662-27820-8., popular and well illustratedSpalding, martin (2010). The history of the Protestant Reformation; in Germany and Switzerland, as well as in England, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, France and Northern Europe. General Books LLC.Bradshaw, Brendan. "the reform and the counter-reformation", history today (1983) 33#11 pp 42–45.