Though there was no driving force like Luther, Zwingli or Calvin during the English Reformation, it succeeded because certain people strived for political power and not exactly for religious freedom. People like Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII brought the Reformation in England much success, however their reasons were based on self-gain and desire for political power. Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I may have been the English Reformation’s greatest benefactors, all because of self interest. Henry VIII was not originally Protestant, but after the pope denied him of his divorce, Henry VIII took things into his own hands. Due to the power kings had in the Middle Ages, Henry VIII was able to control Parliament and force it to do whatever he wanted. So in 1534, Henry VIII forced Parliament to pass a law he made known as the Act of Supremacy. The Act of Supremacy stated that the king ought to be the head of the Church of England. This law gave the king complete power over the Church of England, instead of the pope. However, the type of church and state relationship did not change. Rather all the Act of Supremacy did was take power from the pope and give it to the king. Surprisingly, the Catholics did not retaliate against this strong change. The pope had always been the head of the church, but now the king had taken his position. This serves as an example of nationalism. The Catholics did not think about how removing the pope could harm their religion in any way. However, instead the people blindly followed Henry VIII because he was the leader of the nation and they assumed he was right. Also, by imposing other laws that punished Protestants, Henry VIII did not give the people much of a choice. Fortunately, for Henry VII, nationalis... ... middle of paper ... ...tism because she had made a stand for it by starting the English Protestant Church, she wished to keep peace in England, and also most likely because she had been greatly influenced by many Protestants in her youth. So once again, even though the English Reformation did not have any great reformers, it still managed to succeed due to the hard work of Thomas Cranmer, and the support of many rulers during the English Reformation. Works Cited "Henry VIII." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. . "Mary I (r.1553-1558)." The Official Website of The British Monarchy. N.p., n.d. Web. . "QUEEN ELIZABETH I & THE CHURCH." Elizabeth I and the Church. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .
After many failed attempts to obtain a divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII took momentous steps that led to "The Reformation," a significant occurrence in the history of religion. Prior to the reformation, all of England's inhabitants including King Henry VIII prescribed to Catholicism. In fact, King Henry VIII was such a strong supporter that he was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the pope for his efforts in protecting Catholicism against the Protestants. However, all these changed upon the pope's denial of Henry's request for a divorce.
Cromwell initiated these changes to the faith, but Henry's Catholic faith ensured these changes were not too radical and chantries were still allowed to pray for souls in purgatory. Although Henry remained a Catholic, the end of papal power was signified in his becoming the head of the Church of England. However, with such movements that shook the foundations of England's faith, why was there so little opposition to the Henrician reformation? Perhaps on of the greatest tactics employed by the crown to prevent opposition was provoking fear amongst those who were likely to oppose the reformation. Henry had to start from the top, and therefore started by controlling parliament.
Thomas Cromwell Is known as the architect of the English Reformation and legal advisor to King Henry VIII. However not many historians look into the life of Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is notorious with the English Reformation. Every source on Cromwell speaks a little on the man himself, they focus on the part he played in the Kings “great matter”. Thomas Cromwell was a self taught man and struggled for everything he had. Cromwell began his journey to the Kings court in the most modest of ways. He left home at age fifteen because of a dispute with his father. His life before the reformation helped shape his decisions and his actions. Yet very few historians spend any real time looking at whom and what led Thomas Cromwell to become the Kings
That is not to say there was no opposition to the reformation, for it was rife and potentially serious. The opposition came from both the upper and lower classes, from the monks and nuns and from foreign European powers. This opposition however, was cleverly minimised from the outset, Cromwell’s master plan ensured court opposition was minimal and new acts, oaths and decrees prevented groups and individuals from publicly voicing their dissatisfaction. Those who continued to counter such policies were ruthlessly and swiftly dealt with, often by execution, and used as examples to discourage others. Henry’s desire for a nation free of foreign religious intervention, total sovereign independence, a yearning of church wealth and the desire for a divorce sewed the seeds for reform.
The Reformation occurred all over Western Europe. It was mostly set in Germany where various parts of corruption in the Church happened. Martin Luther started the process of the Reformation, he was German so he understood how the Catholic Church took advantage and didn't think this was fair. The Catholic Reformation took place between 1450-1650 which was the biggest revolution in Germany, although the understanding of Luther's actions weren't taken notice of until he put the 95 Theses on the Church's door. Luther felt that Bishops and Priests didn't understand the bible correctly. Luther wanted the Reformation to help fix this by helping the uneducated and powerless. Some of the movement of this was
The Church in England's Need for Considerable Reform in 1529 Many historians argue, that it is not true to say, that before the Reformation England was a land shrouded in the mists of ignorance; that there were no schools or colleges for imparting secular education till the days of Edward VI.; that there was no real religion among the masses, apart from practices such as pilgrimages, indulgences, and invocation of the saints; that the people were up in arms against the exactions and privileges of the clergy, and that all parties only awaited the advent of a strong leader to throw off the yoke of Rome. But there were a number of problems, which need to be considered. Many historians have argued that the people of the early 16th century agreed with Henry in his decision, to break with Rome because the church in England was a deeply unpopular institution. Anti-clericalism according to this line of argument was widespread.
Political greed and desire for land by the German princes and the education of Free Cities resulted in immense support from vast crowds which allowed for the Protestant Reformation to occur. As did the social developments included in Martin Luther’s, author of the 95 Theses, ideas of women rights, bibles/masses, and availability of literature. This developments resulted in certain groups, genders, and classes converting to Protestantism, which allowed the Protestant Reformation to establish.
Henry, one of the most well known kings of England, is best remembered for breaking with the Church of Rome, Roman Catholicism. There were many reasons behind the reformation in England, but perhaps the most prominent of these had to do with Katharina, the Spanish princess turned English Queen. Though Katharina of Aragon lived a hard life, from the death of her children, to a public divorce, she cared for the people that she reigned over, and stayed in their hearts long after she was exiled.
After King of England, Henry VIII (1491 – 1547) separated the Church of England from the authority of the Pope, the Crown took control of the church in the country. As such, after the English Reformation in the 16th century, the Crown ordered...
...igion. The more pragmatic people believe the results of the reformation to be the result of natural process of changes in the paradigm of late medieval thinking. The politics also understood the number of advantages, which the reformation gave them, including the shifting of power, which was earlier associated with church. The education was also influenced by the reformation. As a result of the reformation, people in the whole world got a chance to understand the religion in their own way, and to read the bible, without the church interference. Different branches of Protestantism appeared, and continue to appear even nowadays. The results of Protestant Reformation they were really noticeable in 16th century, not only due to the reformation itself, but also due to many factors, associated with the period of renaissance, and these results are noticeable even nowadays.
All of Europe used to be united under one religion, Catholicism. Europe started inching away from Catholicism during the 13th - 15th centuries. The church leaders started to only think about money and the power they held, instead of the real reason they were supposed to be there, God. This caused an uprising of people who no longer wanted to be a part of the Catholic church, nicknamed Protestants because they protested the ways of the catholic church. The Protestant Reformation was caused by corruption in the church, Martin Luther and John Calvin’s ideas, and the clergy and their preachings.
d to have achieved much religious change by 1546 and they accomplished this by giving Henry the power he desired. From the study of the motives behind the English Reformation I believe that the Henrician Reformation was much more political than it was religiously. Henry achieved much authority and financial gain through the reformation and also attained a divorce. The key reason for breaking with Rome was Henry himself and his greed and selfishness.
The Protestant Reformation appealed to many including political rulers, princes and those living in towns who were tired of paying papal dues and taxes to Rome. Lutheranism was the first of its kind to give a freedom to the individual and a sense of equality among men. The Scriptures themselves could provide salvation, which was the purpose of every man's life. This provided a sense of peace to those living in a world full of corruption, tyranny, and death. The governmental authority was a means of protecting the neighborhood from the evils of the world and structured itself to be from the will of God. This authority also profited from Lutheranism, which allowed it to become such a success.
During the Reformation in Europe, many changes were brought about. Among these changes included people such as Erasmus, Martin Luther, the peasants of Swabia, and King Henry VIII. These people brought about some of the most important changes in European history. Without these individuals Europe would be a completely different country than what it is today.
Although saying this, the Reformation was not just on a Protestant level, it spread and soon became, not just a popular topic for discussion, but a wide-ranged divided religious change that affected every inch of society. This meant that people wanted their own version of change and reform, this lead to a variety of different reforms within this movement. The main bodies that evo... ... middle of paper ... ... the Reformation was ont really just a good thing, I think that it went a bit over the top with the violence, and the destruction of religious imagery by Puritans.