How was the church politically powerful during the middle ages

The church was probably one of the most rich and powerful things during the middle ages. The church was a driving force for religious people, and most religious people would give the church a ton of money during their lifetime. People paid 1/10's of their earnings to the church, which were called tithes, basically donations to the church which supported them. They also paid for events, like baptism, marriage and communion. The church was considered independent, so they were not taxed, and the wealthy often gave the church land. The church ended up owning 1/3 of the land in Western Europe, and Western Europe was heavily dominated by Christianity. The church had a strong political power during these times because people would follow what the church wanted, due to them having all this power. Wealthy politicians would also pay indulgences to "buy their way into heaven", and the threat of not going to heaven was enough to make politicians do their bidding during this time.