In medieval Europe, Christianity was the main religion that was recognised in the form of the Catholic Church.

It was a major part of everyday life, as it served to give people a spiritual guidance as well as serving as their form of government. The lives of the people in the Middle Ages were dominated by the church. From birth to death, whether a peasant, noble or King, life was guided by the Medieval religion and its teachings. As everyone believed that God, heaven and hell all existed, they obeyed the Church in hope that they will go to heaven rather than hell. Everyone was afraid of Hell and they would try to uphold the morals and values that the Catholic Church promotes to be protected from it. Often, in the Middle Ages, the churches and governments ruled together. Bishops and Abbots would read and write for kings and often became vassals. Local priests were appointed by local lords, and so were expected to uphold their wishes. Thus, the role of the church and rulers was interconnected. Various religious institutions, such as monasteries and convents, became both important, rich and powerful. The lives of many Medieval people including various orders of monks and nuns were dedicated to the Catholic church and religion. This was also a period of great change in the Christian church. Disputes of the Crusades led to the split between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches, called the Great Schism of 1054. The practises of the Catholic religion were questioned and the beliefs of men such as Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) prompted a new religion called Protestantism which led to a further split in the Christian Church referred to as the Protestant Reformation. The control of the Church is shown through its power over the lives of people. Not only did it have power to send people to heaven or hell, but it also had many rights and exemptions. Peasants worked for free on Church land. This proved difficult for peasants as the time they spent working on Church land, could have been better spent working on their own plots of land producing food for their families. They paid 10% of what they earned in a year to the Church (this tax was called tithes). Tithes could be paid in either money or in goods produced by the peasant farmers. As peasants had little money, they almost always had to pay in seeds, harvested grain, and animals. This usually caused a peasant a lot of hardship as seeds, for example, would be needed to feed a family the following year. A failure to pay tithes, so the peasants were told by the Church, would lead to their souls going to Hell after they had died.