The wealth and power of the Church in Scotland, which had been responsibly accrued as an unintended consequence of its hard work, aroused jealousy and greed. The Protestant Reformers, whom we must regard as sincere in their desire for a Church spiritually renewed, needed the help of politicians if they were to succeed in making radical changes to the Church, given the close links between Church and State at the time. The politicians also saw that, by giving the necessary support to the religious reformers, they would then be able to control the Church, get their hands on its wealth and never allow it again to hold the position of power it once had. This was the beginning of what we now call secularization, the process which began with the weakening of the union between Church and State, and by degrees led to the aggressive secularism which we witness today.