Religious Tensions In The 18th Century

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Religious tensions in England existed for centuries. Catholicism and Protestantism changed throughout the history of England, based on the personal beliefs of the kings and queens who were in power. As Britain’s sense of identity was changing, Protestantism, and the quest to become Protestant, impacted the formation of the Parliament including the relationship with the king. Prior to King Henry VIII, Monarchies and Parliament were Catholic and had connections to the Pope and other Catholic religious leaders. In order Parliament, the Monarch would use his connection to the Pope. Protestantism became the official religious view of England under the rule of Henry VIII. The king imposed Protestantism so he would be free to divorce Catherine of Aragon. At first, England was not sure how to handle the religious change, as most of them were still Catholic. Later on, they developed a strong sense of being Protestant, but this did not come without struggles from the people of England. Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy, allowing himself to become the ultimate head of the church. “Albeit the king's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England, and so is recognized by the clergy of this realm in their convocations” (Janz 1999). …show more content…

She rejected the Act of Supremacy, which gave power to the king to rule the church. Rejection of this act took power away from the church of England as she tried to bring back Catholicism. By this point, England had become a strong Protestant country. During the reign of Mary, there was cooperation between the Crown and Parliament, as she had appointed the members. Parliament consisted of people who were appointed by Mary, in order to assure a working relationship and who were Catholic. Mary I never fully got the nation back to the ways of

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