Just like the Renaissance claimed to be forming nothing new--only getting back to original principles, so did the Protestant Reformation claim to get back to the original teachings of the New Testament. One event that accelerated the Protestant Reformation was the spread of literacy with movable type with Gutenberg's printing press. Now more people could read the Bible and the lay clergy could point to chapters and verses in order to strengthen their points. Both the Renaissance and Reformation ideals claimed that by getting back to the original ways of doing things (learning from classical civilization, the original words of Jesus and the Apostles) that life would be better and the people could decide for themselves their destinies. Of course, this had unintended consequences--the divine right of kings to rule was called into question when readers discovered the Roman and Greek republics and church authority was questioned especially when that authority came from the Pope or the King of England. Also, the Protestant Reformation made other splinter groups possible--people who claimed that the Reformation did not go far enough so they formed their own churches.
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