England as Protestant by 1547

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England as Protestant by 1547 In some ways England was heading towards Protestantism in 1547, however in others ways it was still Catholic. Henry VIII was married to Catherine of Aragon, however he met a new women at court named Ann Boleyn. Anne promised Henry that she would marry him and give him sons, something which Catherine could not give Henry. Henry decided he wanted to a divorce form Catherine, however they were hard to obtain and only the Pope could grant a divorce. However the Pope refused Henry the divorce he wished. Henry decided that if the Pope would not grant him a divorce then he would split with the Pope and Rome. This meant that Henry would be head of the Church in England and the Pope would not be. This allowed him to gain the divorce he wanted, and allowed him to become wealthy and powerful. In 1533 the Act in Restraint of Appeals to Rome now recognised as Henry as the supreme head of the Church in England. This also said that Rome had no power to rule over matrimonial cases. This allowed Henry to gain his divorce as Cranmer declared Henry’s marriage with Catherine null and void, and Henry married Anne. This moves England away from the Catholic faith as he has now split with the Rome. A major part of the Catholic Church was that the Pope decided what happened, for example who gained a divorce, and Henry has now split and undermined the Pope. This shows England moving away from the Catholic faith, but not yet towards Protestantism. In January 1534 the Second Act of Annates was passed this said that future abbots and bishops were appointed by the King and not the Pope. This shows that Henry is assorting his... ... middle of paper ... ...pper class people to be able to learn and read the Bible. They did not wish for the lower class to be educated. It would seem that although England moved towards Protestantism in Henrys reign by 1547 England was not entirely Protestant however it was also not entirely Catholic. The Church was somewhere in the middle with both Protestant and Catholic ideas involved. Henry was still committed to certain aspects of Catholicism like transubstantiation. However he also liked the idea of the dissolution of the monasteries and banning pilgrimages. However the dissolution may have just been a way for Henry to gain money and land, which is what he gained from the monasteries, and this may have been his reason for the dissolution. In conclusion by 1547 England was neither Protestant or Catholic, it was somewhere in the middle.

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