It seems that the start of getting people and nations to not be so reliant on a central authority (the Pope) and start governing for themselves. Yes, there were still monarchies, but the trend toward self-governance and democracy was really pushed forward and made possible by the Reformation.
That unfortunately took quite awhile to get to. The baptists had a lot to do with religious freedom since they were almost always persecuted by the more dominant views.
Roger Williams and the founding of Rhode Island was a big leap forward in that regard.