d from the German_.--The work of
John Wyclif and his followers was so remote from {387} the period of
the Reformation as to have very little immediate influence. Yet, in a
general way, the influence of the teachings of Wyclif continued
throughout the Reformation. The religious change came about slowly in
England and was modified by political affairs. People gradually became
liberal on the subject of religion, and began to exercise independent
thought as to church government. Yet, outwardly, at the beginning of
the sixteenth century, the followers of John Wyclif made no impression
upon religious affairs. The new learning, advocated by such men as
Erasmus, Colet, and More, was gaining ground rapidly in England. Its
quickening influence was observed everywhere. It was confined to no
particular field, but touched all departments, religious, social,
political. It invaded the territory of art, of education, of
literature. Henry VIII favored the new learning and gave it great
impulse by his patronage. But the new learning in England was
antagonistic to the Reformation of Luther. The circumstances were
different, and Luther attacked the attitude of the English reformers,
who desired a slow change in church administration and a gradual
purification of the ecclesiastical atmosphere. The difference of
opinion called out a fierce attack by Henry VIII on Luther, which gave
the king the title of "Defender of the Faith."

The real beginning of the Reformation in England was a revolt from the
papacy by the English king for political reasons. England established
a national church, with the king at its head, and made changes in the
church government and reformed abuses. The national, or Anglican,
Church once formed, the struggle began, on the one hand, between it and
the Catholic Church, and on the other, at a later date, against
Puritanism. The Anglican Church was not fully established until the
reign of Elizabeth.

The real spirit of the Reformation in England is best exhibited in the
rise of Puritanism, which received its impulse largely from the
Calvinistic branch of the Reformation. The whole course of the
Reformation outside of the influence of the new learning, or humanism,
was of a political nature. The {388} revolt from Rome was prompted by
political motives; the Puritan movement was accompanied with political
democracy. The result was to give great impetus to constitutional
liberty, stimulate intellectual ac