Religion has always played a fundamental role in society. In fact, until the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church benefited from its temporal power. This temporal power allowed the Popes to have sovereign authority over the Papal State, therefore they did not exercise their authority only in the religious sphere but also in the public sphere. Therefore, the situations created were contradictory. The Popes could, in fact, start a war against other States, mainly for territorial and political purposes, using their religious authority, such as excommunication or interdiction, to achieve certain purposes of a political and "earthly" nature. The temporal power of the Church, therefore, was used to preserve its unity and independence. However, the end of the temporal power of the Roman Catholic Church can be traced back to the 16th century, more precisely to 1517 with the beginning of the Protestant Reformation initiated by Martin Luther and John Calvin: The beginning of the modern era can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, with its supposed affirmation of the individual in direct relationship with God, a God who sanctions prosperity in this life and in all its worldliness. But it can also be traced back to the Enlightenment of the 18th century, with its virulent anticlericalism and its attack on all kinds of religious myths. (Franke 220)It can therefore be said that the Church, at that time, was a despotic and fundamentalist organism that professed some values ​​that the Church itself neither followed nor respected. All moral and traditional principles lost their meaning in the face of the deep and well-rooted materialistic interest of the Church, which availed itself of the aforementioned power of excommunication, interdiction and eternal... middle of paper...- 111. Network. April 18, 2014.Howe, J. Thomas. "Claims After God: Friedrich Nietzsche and Richard Dawkins on Atheism." Journal of Religion and Science 47.1 (2012): 140-155. Network. April 18, 2014.Ingraffia, Brian D. Postmodern Theory and Biblical Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.Moore, Gregory. "Nietzsche, degeneration and criticism of Christianity". Nietzsche and religion. Spec. issue of the Journal of Nietzsche Studies 19 (2000): 1-18. Web 18 April 2014. Nicola, Ubaldo. Philosophy and School. Atlas of Philosophy. Network. 15 April 2014.< http://www.swif.uniba.it/lei/scuola/atlante/ubal15.htm.>Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, Walter Arnold Kauffman and RJ Hollingdale. The will to power. New York: Random House, 1967. Print.Winks, Robin W. and Joan Neuberger. Europe and the creation of modernity: 1815-1914. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.