The invention of movable type made books less expensive. People started to demand the Bible in their own language, as beforehand, the book was predominantly available in Latin. As more people started to read the Bible, they started to rebel against the excesses of the Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation would not have been possible without the invention of movable type.

The invention also had secular implications as well. More people learned to read and they demanded books in their own language. The period after the invention of the printing press saw the rise of English, French, and German as languages. Writers wrote about plays, manners, and the correct role of government. They also wrote some of the first popular novels. As people read books in their own language, they started to develop a sense of nationalism. People saw themselves less as members of Christendom but more like members of a certain country.

The Protestant Reformation was the biggest consequence.  Until the invention of the Gutenberg press, there were few copies of Holy Scripture (due to the difficulties of copying text by hand), and these were in Latin or Greek, so only the learned nobility and clergy could read them. The Gutenberg printing press allowed a large number of copies of Scripture to be printed in a short period and these in vernacular languages that the educated commoner could read.  This led to new interpretations of Biblical passages, and that ultimately led to calls for reform in common Catholic practices of the time.  Resistance to these reforms led to Luther, Tyndale, Calvin, and others forming their own brands of Christianity, thus empowering the Protestant reformation. The Gutenberg printing press also was the genesis of journalism, which even today can shape public opinion.  The pen may be mightier than a sword, but it is powerless against the press.