During the Middle Ages, many popes and other people related to the church worked to have the church be free from the restraints of the laws of the state. One person who spoke out is Pope Gregory VII. He wrote a letter to Bishop Herman of Metz stating, “Who does not know that kings and princes derive their origin from men ignorant of God who raised themselves above their fellows by pride, plunder, treachery, murder--in short, by every king of crime--at the instigation of the Devil, the prince of this world, men blind with greed and intolerable in their audacity?” This is an example of the church’s opinion of rulers trying to take over the church. During the Renaissance, the church following would lessen due to new discoveries that conflicted with the views of the church. Religion became something that was not as important as it used to be, but the values were still taught and passed down because of the deep-rooted