How did religious reform lead to increased interest in science?

Scholars felt more freedom to pursue questions that challenged accepted church thinking without fear of being subject to Inquisition or punishment.

Religious reformers already had taken the step of questioning traditional beliefs held by the church.  Seeking scientific answers to questions about the universe was simply another way of looking for truth, rather than accepting without question what traditional authorities had said.

The early scientists of the Scientific Revolution were typically quite religious men, but they wanted room to explore God's creation without being threatened by the church and labeled as "heretics" for doing so.