Religion played a very crucial part in education both in the conduct of the institutions and in the curriculum. Bible reading and prayer remained a major part of school well into the national period, when control of education was drifting away from sectarian authorities. A debate was brought to local school boards by modern American delegate authorities, so the government allowed private individuals and residues groups to establish schools of their own. This happened because the government failed to support schools with tax revenues. Because of the governments failure numerous religious sects demanded the freedom to educate their children in their own way. The desire for greater religious freedom was contributed to the separation of church and state. This argument of the separation of church and state has been going on for quite some time. Early efforts to reform the church started in the 1300’s at Oxford University. John Wycliff stirred up controversy in teaching the freedom of religious conscience of the individual believer, who stood in faith directly before God in 1370. Wycliff’s followers, contemptuously called “Lollards,” preached reform in England. Also, Wycliff’s movement made much of the bible available to the masses in its English translation from the Vulgate. This gave the people a more personal relationship with God because they could educate themselves by reading the word. The church did not like this nor did they like Wycliff’s movement. Wycliff’s Lollard movement was eventually suppressed but so was the intellectual ferment of Oxford University where his teachings had been widely accepted. In 1409 the institutional church was trying to unify and reform itself, and at the same time bring independent voices of reform under submission through the conciliar movement, a series of church councils called to unify the papacy and reform the ...
