Why was it revolutionary for the king James bible to be printed so the common man could read it?

Answer 1

Religion had traditionally been "handed down" to the masses by the clergy and royalty. This was a subtle but effective way to "control" the masses. Age old story of "he who control knowledge, controls the world."

Answer 2

Thanks to Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, mass communication became a reality, and that was good news for authors as well as for people who were eager to learn to read. Prior to the printing press, only a limited number of people, usually priests and other clerics, controlled what could be published, and publications were in manuscript form, read mainly by the most educated elites. Also, few if any of these works were in English, the language of the common people. But the King James version was a dramatic change, and a perfect example of the benefit of mass communication-- not only was it written in English (rather than in Greek or Latin, which only the few educated clerics could read) but it was published in book form, giving more people from all walks of life access to it.