Final answer:
The Reformation led to an increase in power for monarchs by weakening the Catholic Church's authority, making them reliant on non-clerical classes, and enabling them to assert control over religious aspects within their kingdoms, thus consolidating their power.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Reformation resulted in an increase in power for monarchs for several key reasons. Initially, the questioning and weakening of the Catholic Church’s spiritual and political authority opened the opportunity for monarchs to consolidate their power domestically. Furthermore, the Black Death led to a decimation of many church officials, which in turn made monarchs reliant on alternate sources of administration and leadership, mainly the merchant class. This shift, coupled with an increased centralization of monarchical authority, allowed monarchs to reduce the traditional privileges of the nobility.The Reformation also led to fundamental political and religious conflicts, exemplified by the civil wars in England and the Glorious Revolution, which brought about a redefinition of the powers between the monarch and Parliament. The gradual assumption of church roles in governance by secular rulers helped solidify the monarchs' power. The investiture controversy of the 11th century set a precedent where popes challenged monarchs over the right to appoint church officials, showing the potential for monarchs to lose power. However, by leveraging the weakening of the Church following the Reformation, monarchs were able to assert greater control over religious appointments within their realms, further enhancing their authority.The interconnection between religious authority and political legitimacy played a critical role in enabling kings and queens to consolidate power by aligning with or distancing from the Church. Monarchs like Charlemagne were crowned by the Pope, blending religious sanctity with political sovereignty, but later monarchs capitalized on religious reforms to assert power independently from the Papacy or church officials. Consequently, the Reformation catalyzed the transition from a church-dominated feudal system to more centralized nation-states under strong monarchial control.