How Did Henry Viii Break The Catholic Church

Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Henry VIII all challenged the Roman Catholic Church in their own ways, but all of them ended up breaking away from the church and forming their own churches or alliances. Overall, most of them, with the exception of Henry VIII, disagreed with the Catholic Church over its doctrines, such as those of indulgences and salvation. All of them ended up formed new religions that rivaled the Catholic Church, and Zwingli, Calvin, and Luther all published writings that stated their dissenting theological beliefs. In 1517, Martin Luther sent shock waves through the religious world when he presented his 95 Thesis, and again in 1520 when he presented his Three Reformation Treaties. He believed in translating the Bible into the vernacular, that salvation came simply from faith, not from good works, and that indulgences were wrong. All of these were attacks on the Catholic doctrine. He was excommunicated in 1521, and the Edict of Worms that same year declared his writings heretical and banned. He ended up fleeing to Germany, where he began to form Lutheranism with the

Henry VIII was actually a Roman Catholic, but in 1527, he decided he wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who had become too old to grant him a male heir, a forbidden practice in the Catholic Church. The pope denied his appeal for divorce, and in 1534 Henry VIII was made head of the Church of England by the Act of Supremacy, which cut the Pope’s power in the country and allowed Henry to get the divorce he desired. The act also dissolved the monasteries in the country. However, Henry’s personal religious beliefs remained Catholic. His main reason for breaking away from the Catholic Church was desire for divorce, and a male heir, not any disagreement over the doctrines of the Church. He was not aiming to form an entire new religion, only to escape the rule of the