The Reformation was chiefly important as the partial destruction of a great international organization, which had repeatedly proved itself stronger than any secular government. Luther, in order to succeed against the Church and the extremists, was obliged to rely upon the support of secular princes; the Lutheran Church never, until the time of Hitler, showed any disloyalty to governments that were not Catholic. The peasants' revolt gave Luther another reason for preaching submission to princes. The Church, as an independent power, practically ceased to exist in Lutheran countries, and became part of the machinery for preaching submission to the secular government.
Source: Power, a new social analysis, 1938, by Bertrand Russell
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https://russell-j.com/beginner/POWER07_110.HTM
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