The church exercised authority by: being the largest landowner in Europe requiring people to attend church services making laws and controlling the legal system
The church influenced daily life by: making and enforcing laws of marriage overseeing the writing of wills and contracts requiring people to perform penance for misdeeds collecting donations for cathedrals teaching and educating
The church offered hope to Europeans by: teaching that salvation was possible offering people a chance to confess their sins and be forgiven
