Martin Luther was branded a heretic and outlaw when he nailed 95 reasons to reform the Catholic Church to the castle door. And so the Reformation began in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. 

The Reformation empowered individuals to rise up and resist the oppressive Systems of Control of the day: Religions, Governments, and Businesses. This inspired America's Founding Fathers to incorporate concepts of individualism and free expression into the First Amendment.

When America was young, churches picked up the societal slack, running orphanages and homes for unwed mothers, feeding the helpless and homeless, etc. In deference, they were given a pass on paying taxes. But churches today provide few, if any, of these services, yet take in over $74B annually, spent on everything from air-conditioned dog houses to hypocritical hookups with sex workers.