Above: illustration of the structure of the Holy Roman Empire. Google Images
Religion in The Empire
Religion play a important role in the Empire from its formation. in the 800's. The Catholic Church held significant amounts of influence on the empire due to its relationship with the Emperor, this began with the crowning of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III. People who held religious power within the empire also held large amounts of political powers as well. Within the empire there were many prince-bishops that held political and religious powers in the empire along with their own kingdom. Some of examples of these princes-bishop kingdoms are the Archbishopric of Mainz, the Archbishopric of Cologne, and the Archbishopric of Trier. Some of these bishops also acted as electorate princes that elected the Holy Roman Emperor, strengthening the influence of the Roman Catholic Church on the Empire. Thorough most of the history of the Holy Roman Empire Roman Catholicism was the dominant religion of the German Princes, but in the 1500's a monk rebelled against the common practices of the Catholic Church and its corruption.