Protestant theology inadvertently weakened church power by eliminating purgatory and indulgences.

Evidence

Their theology was such as to diminish the power of the Church. They abolished purgatory, from which the souls of the dead could be delivered by masses. They rejected the doctrine of Indulgences, upon which a large part of the papal revenue depended. By the doctrine of predestination, the fate of the soul after death was made wholly independent of the actions of priests. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1933

Categorization

• XREF: XREF connects to standard histories of the Counter-Reformation and the intellectual shift of the 16th century. — connects to: The Reformation intensified corporal punishment by removing Catholic institutional checks — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 2911; A non-religious impulse within religion can destroy its own forms — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 852; Real change requires discarding rather than reforming the old religion (+1 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1933

Broader Connections

• A non-religious impulse within religion can destroy its own forms #exemplifies (0.82) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 852
• Preserving religious feeling requires abandoning religious forms #exemplifies (0.80) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 865
• Real change requires discarding rather than reforming the old religion #exemplifies (0.78)