Correct Response: D. The invention of the printing press and the subsequent printing of the Bible in the vernacular instead of Latin made the Bible available to the populace. Common people were able to read and interpret the Bible for themselves. As they did so, they began to scrutinize the teachings of the church and even question the authority of organized religion. Although Renaissance women became increasingly better educated and some emerged as important writers and artists (A), their contributions had no direct or significant effect on church reform. Similarly, the development of realism in Renaissance painting (B) and transatlantic exploration (C), both by-products of the humanist style and thought of the period, did not lead directly to criticism of organized religion.
