How Did The Protestant Reformation Increase Literacy?

As time went on, the Protestant Reformation did begin to bring increased literacy as well as the development of the Swedish language. Although various demands were made to prevent the sale and distribution of Lutheran reading materials, the only Swedish print house was under royal control; consequently, the king was in control of what sort of materials were allowed to be printed within Sweden. Petri, the priest of Stockholm, now in close connection with the king, was very proficient in creating liturgical material in the newly developing Swedish language. His work includes treatise on monastic life of 1528, a collection of church hymnals in 1530, his compilation of sermons of the same year, and his Swedish Mass of 1531. Additionally, the New Testament was translated into Swedish in 1526, and the Gustav Vasa Bible, a reprint of the entire Protestant canon into Swedish, was completed in 1541, the latter of which was actually in use up until 1917.
The Gustav Vasa Bible was comprised from a combination of old written Swedish as well as colloquial spoken Swedish; this effectively helped to create a distinction between Swedish and Danish, a long time goal of the king. To further instill Protestant values on the people, and inadvertently promote literacy, during this period, Gustav Vasa required the Gospel to be taught in schools. The Protestant Reformation in Sweden may, in this sense, be credited with driving Sweden towards the adoption of an official and distinct language; as well as producing considerable amounts of reading material in which Swedes could learn and develop their new found language