[Political Interest]

During the Reformation was religious conversion the choice of the common believer or was it the choice of the aristocracy and ecclesiastical hierachy?

In other words did laymen who were neither aristocrats or part of the clergy hold any choice in what religion they had?

[Atlantis]

There were peasant revolts directed against the church because of the repression and exploitation by the clergy and the feudal lords. Thomas Muentzer is the best known rebel leader of this time. They preached something between liberation theology and communism. Luther and Muentzer separated because Luther opposed the violence and radicalism of the latter. The peasant revolts were put down soon and the leaders didn't really have a chance of developing their liberation theology. The feudal rulers then used the reformation for their own political aims.