Copernicus presents theory that Earth revolves around Sun, which is placed on the
Papal Index of forbidden books until 1835. A stationary

Sun and moving Earth also clashed with many biblical

passages. Protestants and Catholics alike often dismissed

heliocentrism on these grounds. Martin Luther did so in

one of his "table talks" in 1539, before De Revolutionibus

had appeared. (Preliminary sketches had circulated in

manuscript form.) In the long run, Protestants, who had

some freedom to interpret the bible personally, accepted

heliocentrism somewhat more quickly. Catholics,

especially in Spain and Italy, had to be more cautious in

the religious climate of the Counter Reformation*, as the

case of Galileo clearly demonstrates.