John Knox was a Scottish religious reformer and political activist who founded the new Scottish protestant religion of Presbyterianism. He was probably born in 1513 or 1514 in Giffordgate, about 15 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland. Nothing is known about his childhood, but his parents were remarkable. His father fought at the Battle of Flodden, and his mother was an educated woman. This was unusual in the 1500's.

Knox attended the University of Glasgow in 1552 and St. Andrew's University. Although he was Catholic, some think he first became familiar with Protestantism at the University of Glasgow. By 1540, he was a Catholic priest.

John Knox was a remarkable man. Although he is best known for founding the Presbyterian religion, all the things he did building up to this are remarkable. He became a friend of the Protestant George Wishart, who was banished from Scotland for his beliefs. He returned to Scotland in 1544, and in 1546 was burned at the stake by the Catholic Church because of his religion (Greatsite). In 1545 John Knox publicly announced that he had converted to Protestantism, clearly a dangerous thing to do at the time. After Wishart's death, a group of Protestants murdered Cardinal David Beaton, who was responsible for Wishart's execution, and then took refuge in St. Andrew's Castle (Columbia, 2001). The Scottish and French joined together to attack the castle and captured the Protestants. Knox spent 19 months in a French prisoner ship until King Edward VI of England arranged for...

He urged those who favored the Reformation, or development of Protestant churches, to stop attending Catholic Mass. He held communion services where he used Reformed instead of Catholic rituals. This attacked the very heart of Catholic practices, and in 1556 he was ordered to appear before the hierarchy in Edinburgh. This was the same body of clerics who burned Wishart at the stake, but instead of running, Knox attended. The Bishops backed off, and Knox returned to Europe. Most likely neither the Catholic clergy nor Knox wanted to return to the previous pattern of persecution and executions over religion in Scotland (Greatsite).
Knox had some difficulty gathering sustained support for his views in Scotland. In 1557 he Protestant nobles of Scotland signed a covenant, or agreement, forming the "Lords of the Congregation." When Mary of Guise attacked them, the Lords asked Knox to return and lead them, which he did.

When Catholic Mary I became queen, Knox fled to Europe..Many of the Protestants deserted the "Lords of the Congregation," understandable given the fate of Wishart. Some even aligned themselves with the new queen. Knox became a minister for the…