Martin Luther

About Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483–1546) stands as a monumental figure whose actions irrevocably altered the course of Western civilization. As a German theologian and seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, his challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church, famously through his Ninety-five Theses, led to widespread religious and political upheaval across Europe. His radical theological positions, particularly regarding salvation by faith alone (sola fide), earned him an extremely high standing in historical influence, ranking him #46 globally in MIT's Pantheon project.

In the modern digital sphere, however, Luther exhibits an 'overattention' relative to his historical placement. While ranked #46 in importance, he garners 1.9 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. This puts him in a state of *overattention* relative to his historical importance, evidenced by an Attention Gap factor of +3x. For comparison, the much less historically significant figure of Michael Jackson (#416 importance) received 8.4 million views in the same period, illustrating a significant divergence between historical weight and contemporary internet traffic.

This high level of attention is not currently growing, however. His 2025 momentum shows a decline, with a -3.1% year-over-year drop in views and a steeper -18% decrease when comparing Q1 to Q3, suggesting a slow erosion of immediate digital interest despite his lasting historical footprint.