"The answer is technology. Printing press revolution had exploded."
Luther was instrumental in making the printing presses viable businesses. Most printers would go bankrupt due to the high costs and experimental nature of the printing technology of the time. Even Gutenberg himself went bankrupt I believe. Luther created a new style of theological discourse that was shorter, in the common vernacular, and accessible to the reading public. As the son of a successful miner, he had crucial insights into credit intensive industries that was unique among European academics.
So no, there would not likely have been a Reformation without Luther and the printing press may not have exploded without him either. [1]
Luther was instrumental in making the printing presses viable businesses. Most printers would go bankrupt due to the high costs and experimental nature of the printing technology of the time. Even Gutenberg himself went bankrupt I believe. Luther created a new style of theological discourse that was shorter, in the common vernacular, and accessible to the reading public. As the son of a successful miner, he had crucial insights into credit intensive industries that was unique among European academics.
So no, there would not likely have been a Reformation without Luther and the printing press may not have exploded without him either. [1]
[1] https://www.amazon.ca/Brand-Luther-Unheralded-Europe-Reforma...