How the Protestant Reformation Gave us the United States of America

We often look back fondly on our Pilgrim fathers as the starting point of America’s founding and the pioneers of religious freedom. After all, they were the first brave souls to deliberately settle here with the intent to start life over away from religious persecution. But the story didn’t start with William Bradford and his small group of believers. They owed their plight to the early Protestant reformers. The United States of America began with the Protestant Reformation.

John Wycliffe

For Englishmen, it began nearly 300 years before, with John Wycliffe, fondly remembered as the Morningstar of the Reformation. Wycliffe was born in to a world where the Church in Rome ruled. In 1302, the Church had released Unam sanctam, which declared,”outside of the Church, there is no salvation,” and “Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”

In the 1380s Wycliffe, an English professor at Oxford, translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. He did this because he felt that the Bible held authority over the Church, not vice versa.

“Christ and His Apostles taught the people in the language best known to them. It is certain that the truth of the Christian faith becomes more evident the more faith itself is known. Therefore, the doctrine should not only be in Latin but in the vulgar tongue and, as the faith of the church is contained in the Scriptures, the more these are known in a true sense the better. The laity ought to understand the faith and, as doctrines of our faith are in the Scriptures, believers should have the Scriptures in a language which they fully understand.” -John Wycliff

As might be expected, the Church was not pleased.

“And so the pearl of the Gospel is thrown before swine and trodden underfoot and what is meant to be the treasure both of clergy and laity is now become a joke of both.” -Henry Knighton, contemporary chronicler of English history.

Pope Gregory issued 5 edicts against Wycliffe. His response: “Englishmen learn Christ’s law best in English. Moses heard God’s law in his own tongue, so did Christ’s apostles.”

Wycliffe had almost completed his English translation of the Bible before he died of a stroke at the age of 54. His friends completed the work and helped to spread the English scriptures, despite being forced into hiding. But Wycliffe’s English Bible did spread, and set the stage for future reformers. But he was not treated kindly in memory. Forty years after his death, his body was dug up, burned, and the ashes thrown in the River Swift. He was retroactively excommunicated from the Church.

The Next English Reformer

William Tyndale was born in 1494, and became a well-educated man, being fluent in six languages (including Latin, Hebrew, and Greek). His reading of justification by faith in the Greek New Testament spurred his conviction that all of his fellow Englishmen should be able to read the Scriptures for themselves.

“I perceived how that it was impossible to establish the lay people in any truth except the Scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their mother tongue.” – William Tyndale

In 1523, he requested permission from the Bishop of London to translate the Bible into English, but was denied. He soon found that his idea would be welcome nowhere in England, so he removed himself to safer places in Europe where the English church authorities – as well as the Pope’s long arm – could not reach him. Ironically, he settled in Wittenberg to begin his work; the very same city where Martin Luther had defied the Pope with his 95 theses just a few years earlier.

In 1525 Tyndale’s first New Testament, translated from Greek into English, was published. With Gutenberg’s recent invention of moveable type, it didn’t take long for copies of this translation to  make its way to England, infuriating King Henry VIII. Tyndale was accused of writing his own translation of the Scriptures. He responded, “I call God to record against the day we shall appear before our Lord Jesus, that I never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honor, pleasure, or riches, might be given me.”

Tyndale wrote openly of the differences between the Catholic Church’s practices and what the New Testament taught, in addition to declaring that the Bible was the authority for all men to follow, and not the Church. “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy who drives the plough to know more of the scriptures than you do.”

Tyndale was betrayed into the hands of the authorities and tried as a heretic. At the age of 42, he was strangled to death, and then burned. His last words: “Lord! Open the King of England’s eyes.”

His prayer was answered. King Henry VIII continued to read Tyndale’s writings, and these, coupled with his own personal desire for a divorce, compelled him to split from the Church in Rome. By 1535, the King commissioned an official English translation of the Bible.

The Rise of Puritanism

In the century after the Protestant Reformation, small bands of English citizens began to question whether the Reformation had gone far enough. Many believed that the Church of England, conveniently founded by Henry VIII during the Reformation period, was rife with corruption and unbiblical practices. These Englishmen, nicknamed “Puritans”, desired a return to the simple, straightforward practices of the New Testament church. They hoped to work within the Church of England to bring about this change.

There was a smaller, more radical subset of Puritans who believed the only real pathway to free worship was through separation from the Church (“Separatists”). The Church authorities were more suspect of this group for their open rebellion.

When King James I took the throne, the Separatists became outlaws. They were arrested and imprisoned, and had their possessions confiscated. They began to meet for worship in secret. When the persecution became too great, they began leaving in groups for Holland. We now know these people as “the pilgrims.”

After 12 years in Holland, they decided that a new land would be more suitable to their purpose and braved the journey across the ocean to the American wilderness.

In his book, Of Plimouth Plantation, Pilgrim Governor William Bradford wrote:

“The one party of reformers endeavored to establish the right worship of God and the discipline of Christ in the Church according to the simplicity of the gospel and without the mixture of men’s inventions, and to be ruled by the laws of God’s word dispensed by such officers as pastors, teachers, elders, etc., according to the Scriptures. The other party, the episcopal, under many pretenses, endeavored to maintain the episcopal dignity after the popish manner with all its courts, canons, and ceremonies; its livings, revenues, subordinate officers, and other means of upholding their anti-Christian greatness, and of enabling them with lordly and tyrannous power to persecute the poor servants of God. The flight was so bitter that neither the honor of God, the persecution to which both parties were subjected, nor the mediation of Mr. Calvin and other worthies, could prevail with the episcopal party. They proceeded by all means to disturb the peace of this poor persecuted church of dissenters, even so fa as to accuse (very unjustly and ungodly, yet prelate-like) some of its chief members with rebellion and high treason against the Emperor, and other such crimes.”

 Though they made a compact to honor the King in England, they practiced a completely independent kind of worship in the New World, and set the stage for freedom of religion in America. 150 years later, the First Congress would make religious freedom the very first right in the Bill of Rights:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Their ancestors in the colonies and in England knew all too well what it was for the Church and the Government to be two wings of the same tyrannical bird; they were determined to have none of it in America.

I love reading history from the standpoint of the 21^st century. It’s amazing to look back over the centuries and see the domino effect that just one man or one event can have across the world.

Thanks to the zeal of the Protestant Reformers, the Gospel of Jesus has been translated into over 650 languages. And in countries with no written language, missionaries over the past centuries have been called to create written languages for primitive cultures for the sole purpose of giving them the Scriptures.

The Reformers passed their convictions and their zeal down through the generations, to other Reformers, Puritans, Separatists, American colonists, and founding fathers. Today, we still have the freedom of religion, and freedom from a “state religion” that requires only one approved form of worship. We are free to have a personal relationship with Christ. As Americans, we owe this freedom to the pioneers of the Protestant Reformation and the many martyrs who gave their lives for it. Without that spark of conviction in Wycliffe, Tyndale, (and Luther, Calvin, and others), who knows how different the world would look today?

History is chronological

This is a great example of the importance of teaching history chronologically. It doesn’t matter what religion you practice, or even if you practice one at all. It’s important to see how one event leads to another, and another, and another. In this case, the translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek to English and German set the stage for some pretty big world events. The invention of the printing press furthered these events. England’s Henry VIII was denied papal permission for a divorce, so he conveniently joined the Reformers, and so on. 

There were settlers in the American wilderness who came here strictly for monetary gain. But the thread of freedom can be traced back from the Revolution in 1776 to the Mayflower Compact of 1620, with that little group of Puritans who escaped the tyranny of the Church of England for a new world. And a New World it certainly became. 

Recommended Reading

If you’d like to read more about these events, for yourself or to your children, I recommend the following books and videos (affiliate links):

The Protestant Reformation

Reformation Time Line, Pamphlet By Rose Publishing This concise guide to the Reformation provides a time line marking of key people and events of this important time in the history of the church. Gain deeper insight into the rise of Protestantism and the influence of people such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, and King James as you see the play-by-play graphically displayed. Learn why these major leaders believed that reform was necessary in the church of their day. See 400 years of church history mapped out alongside the colorful politics of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth. This helpful Rose Publishing pamphlet contains more than 150 fascinating facts, a full-color map of Europe, and a list of major Protestant doctrines. Here you will find a simple explanation of the rise of Christian denominations such as the Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Anabaptists that make up the “family tree” of denominations. Covering the period from A.D. 1200-1700, this concise guide contains more than 30 illustrations and a history of Bible translation into the English language. This is a resource not to be missed! Rose Publishing Product Code: 353X

The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation By Michael Reeves / B&H Academic Burning pyres, nuns on the run, stirring courage, and comic relief: the Protestant Reformation is a gripping tale, packed with drama. But what motivated the Reformers? And what were they really like? The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation, is a lively, accessible, and fully informative introduction to the Reformation by Michael Reeves. It brings to life the movement’s most colorful characters (Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin,), while also examining their ideas, showing the profound and personal relevance of Reformation thinking for today. Also included are a lengthy Reformation timeline, a map of key places in the Reformation, further reading suggestions, and, in this U.S. edition, a new foreword by 9 Marks Ministries president Mark Dever.

William Tyndale

The Torchlighters Series: The William Tyndale Story, DVD By Vision Video In this episode The Torchlighters follows William’s adventures as he works in secret, moving from town to town as a fugitive to avoid capture. Friends and allies help him along, but enemies may be lurking around any corner. Come along and see whether this torchlighter completes his task before the king’s men close in on him. Approx. 30 minutes + extras. Special Features: English and Spanish Languages English Subtitles Stimulating interview with Dr. David Daniell and tyndale scholar Fascinating interview with actor Russell Boulter (voice of Tyndale) Comprehensive leader’s guide with background information, timeline of the period, additional resources, and more Reproducible student handouts, including comprehension and discussion questions, puzzles, activities, coloring, and more

God’s Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale DVD By Vision Video A true story, God’s Outlaw is about international politics, church intrigue, cold-blooded betrayal, and false justice ending in a criminal’s death. But it’s also about victorious faith and spiritual triumph over some of the greatest political and religious forces known in the 16th century. This 93-minute film depicts William Tyndale’s obsession with translating the Bible into English, and the voyage he made to avoid capture by kings and the pope. The tale of how he lived and died as “God’s outlaw” is a compelling story and is especially a moving encouragement for modern people of faith. Approx. 93 minutes. Special features: Chapter titles for easy access Biographical information on Director and leading actors In the DVD-Rom folder: Christian History magazine article and study guide/worksheets in PDF format Abridged version with commentary by Ken Curtis Subtitles in English Audio: English, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean

Bible Smuggler By Louise A. Vernon / Herald Press Read the 16th century story of William Tyndale, who wants to translate the Bible into English. He feels that the common people of England should be able to read the Scriptures for themselves. The church and government violently disagree. Collin Hartley, a boy and Tydale’s helper, works with him on this dangerous project. Tydale has to flee to Europe for his life, and Collin goes along. Their enemies follow and try to capture them, but Tyndale manages to complete his translation work. Then, he mush smuggle the English-language Bibles into England. Along with Collin Hartley, you will participate in all the important events of this daring story. Recommended for ages 9 and up.

William Tyndale: The Smuggler’s Flame By Christian Focus Part of the Trailblazers’ Series, The Smuggler’s Flame tells the story of how William Tyndale lived a life of daring adventure, dodging the king’s men, fleeing enemies, and meeting with smugglers in the dead of night. . . all to bring English Bibles into England. Tyndale worked tirelessly on an English translation of the Bible to the English people, a work that would continue even after his martyrdom. 159 pages, softcover.

The Tyndale New Testament, 1526 Edition By Hendrickson Publishers The first English Bible translated from the original languages William Tyndale believed the Bible should be available in the vernacular—the common people’s speech. He famously declared, “The boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than [an educated man].” Though forbidden by the Church to translate the New Testament into English, Tyndale’s determination resulted in its finally being printed in Germany in 1526. Smuggled into England, the Tyndale New Testament was a monumental success. The simple, direct language of many of its verses has resonated down the centuries. William Tyndale’s legacy stems from his having translated the Scriptures in a way that made the most of the emerging English tongue. Bible collectors and anyone interested in the history of the English Bible will treasure this unique volume. Co-publication with the renowned British Library Facsimile of one of only two complete copies from Peter Schoeffer’s 1526 printing, held in the British Library’s collection Features clear, legible type and original, color illustrations Authoritative new introduction by David Daniell (Emeritus Professor of English Language and Literature at University College London; founder and first Chairman of the Tyndale Society) Ribbon marker

John Wycliffe

Beggars Bible: An Illustrated Historical Fiction of John Wycliffe By Louise A. Vernon / Herald Press The author tells of John Wycliffe, the famous Oxford teacher, preacher who translated the Bible and made his translation available to the poor of the land.

The Wycliffe Bible: John Wycliffe’s Translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible, Hardcover By John Wycliffe & Brett Burner / Lamp Post Inc.

The Puritans

The American Puritans By Dustin Benge & Nate Pickowicz / Reformation Heritage / Soli Deo Gloria In The American Puritans, Dustin Benge and Nate Pickowicz tell the story of the first hundred years of Reformed Protestantism in New England through the lives of nine key figures: William Bradford, John Winthrop, John Cotton, Thomas Hooker, Thomas Shepard, Anne Bradstreet, John Eliot, Samuel Willard, and Cotton Mather.

Pilgrim Stories By Margaret Pumphrey / Beautiful Feet Books Pilgrim Stories was originally written in the early 1900s for the purpose of encouraging student interest in the lives of the Pilgrims; it has been newly edited and expanded to include a horizontal history of the world of the Pilgrims of the early 17th century. Drawing upon a number of primary sources, including William Bradford’s Diary, Of Plimoth Plantation, and Good Newes from New England, these edited stories are presented through the eyes of the children who were there. A narrative of faith, courage, and joy, this engaging living book will draw children into the events of the past. 182 pages, softcover. Grades 4-7 / Ages 9-12.

William Bradford: Pilgrim Boy By Bradford Smith / Beautiful Feet Books Young and old alike will enjoy this thoroughly researched and personable biography of the first governer of Plimouth Plantation. Read about Bradford’s difficult childhood in England and see how he was being prepared by hardship and los to face the challenges of his adult life. 200 pages, softcover.

Freedom of Religion

Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution & Religion An essential resource for anyone interested in our nation’s religious heritage and the Founders’ intended role for the American judicial system. Original Intent combines hundreds of quotes from primary sources with the author’s exposition on hot topics such as revisionism, judicial activism, and separation of church and state. A substantial appendix encompasses full texts of the founding documents, biographical sketches of numerous Founders, and extensive reference notes.