Even before Martin Luther posted his “Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences,” numerous Catholic practices had come under widespread criticism. The specific political situation in the Holy Roman Empire enabled Luther and other reformers to spread their ideas. Strong local governments and high nobles, who exercised more power in their territories than did the central government of the Holy Roman Empire, welcomed Lutheran ideas and offered safe havens to the Protestants. Protestant reform extended to social thought as well — for example, priests were no longer required to remain celibate in the Protestant tradition. Some reformers adopted beliefs that were far more radical than those of Luther or other reformers and were condemned by Protestants and Catholics alike. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church developed its own plans for reform, both to counter Protestant attacks and to revitalize the church. The age of Reformation was also an age of religious violence, as religious and political conflicts merged and overlapped, fueling war, riots, and the persecution of dissenters and outsiders. ■