Essay The English Reformation

Throughout the ages there have been many rebellions and revolutions overcoming corruptions of higher authorities. Two major events are the protestant reformation and the American revolution. Both set examples for generations to come in either religious freedom or politically. Of the two, the Protestant Reformation made a greater difference in the course of history with advancing religious freedom, as to where the American Revolution effected a smaller amount with political influence.

3. John Wycliffe attacked papal authority and called for even more radical reform of the

From 1450 to 1750 C.E., the Europeans were beginning to settle in the Western part of Europe in places such as: France, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and many more. Like many other of the surrounding countries and empires, the Europeans began to question many of the hierarchies in Europe at the time such as the Catholic Church by asking “Should we trust their process or attempt to reform?” or even “Should we ignore the intentions of the church and start something completely new that we believe is better for the people?” The development of both the Protestant Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment began to answer these questions and enforce their beliefs in European society. Through the inspiration of the “needed” change of tradition in European society the Protestant Reformation sought to bring back the early versions of Christianity, while the Age of Enlightenment sought to abandon Christianity and move forward. But both the Protestant Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment sought to focus on similar moral tenants such as the belief of individualism and the use of reason to analyze text. Overall, both the Protestant Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment in Europe desired to move away from the selfish, incompetent, and lazy Catholic Church of that time, and either move forward or reform to stabilize European thinking for centuries to come.

The needs and wants of the masses were not taken into consideration. In this essay I am going to look at England pre-reformation and reach my own opinion of whether or not England was actually in need of a reformation in 1529.

The Protestant Reformation was a pivotal time of European history that occurred during the 16th century. The Protestant Reformation was comprised of people called “reformers” that challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice (“The Reformation”). The Protestant Reformation was revolutionary due to the fact that the reformers preached against everything the Catholic Church had been teaching. Some famous reformers are John Calvin and Martin Luther. However, Martin Luther-- to some--- is named the most successful and influential reformer of the 16th century. Martin Luther was tremendously effective and influential due to how resourceful he was, and his teachings spread across Europe swiftly.

The Reformation was a split in the Catholic Church during the fifteen-hundred. This schism had major economic, political, and religious implications and caused the creation of Protestant Christianity. It began when Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, where he argued for reform of the Catholic Church. One of the issues that bothered Luther the most, was the sale of indulgences. Church officials sold forgiveness for people's’ sins. While this was just the beginning, there were many factors which led to the beginning of the Reformation.

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era.

As the church was losing more power, Reformers began questioning the church’s teachings and introduced new Christian faiths. Reformers wanted to purify the church. They interrogated the Pope and Catholic Church’s authority. Many early leaders spoke out against the church. One was John Wycliffe, an English scholar, spoke opposing

The English Reformation was a detailed process, in 16th-century England, where the Church of England broke ties with the authority of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. It all began with King Henry VIII marriage with Catherine of Aragon. After years of marriage Catherine had not produced a male heir who survived into adulthood angering the King. With this in mind King Henry will set his eyes own Anne Boleyn who was a maid of honor to Queen Catherine. By the late 1520s, Henry wanted his marriage to Catherine annulled, claiming it to be invalid due to the fact that Catherine was his late brothers wife making it wrong for Henry VIII to be allowed to marry her. In 1527 Henry asked the Pope, Pope Clement VII, to annul his marriage. The pope refused in fear of the Queen’s nephew, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. this

Catholic leaders believed they were defending traditional Christian civilization against rebellions and anarchical forces, whilst the latter argued they were restoring pure religion and defending against corruption and superstition. To them, the Pope was anti-Christ, whilst to the Catholics, Luther, Alvin and all other ‘reformers’ were heretics. Consequently, the secular rulers sought to base their political unity upon that of a religious nature, using their authority to compel their subjects into adopting one form of Christianity. In contrast to Pope Leo X, who face the Lutheran revolt, who urged secular leaders to suppress Protestant heretics by force, Luther appealed for this same force to be used against Catholics, and even Calvin, considered to be an apostle of religious tolerance didn’t permit Catholics to reside in Geneva. Meanwhile, Spain, Portugal and Italy all used methods such as the Inquisition and the Index to eliminate religious dissent and persecute Protestant subjects. Therefore, this shows that despite the argument regarding whether England was ‘torn apart’, the rest of Europe was considerably so, which could subsequently have impacted England.

In 1527, King Henry VIII of England filed for divorce from his wife, Catherine. As insignificant as this event may seem, it actually marked the beginning of a religious and political reform from the corrupted Roman Catholic Church: the English Reformation. The English Reformation wasn’t the only movement that led to the separation from the Catholic Church, though. The Protestant Reformation, starting only ten years before the English Reformation did, first recognized the corruption of the Catholic Church. The English Reformation noticed the corruptions of the Catholic Church, but was more focused on creating new political and religious authority. Both of these reformations relate to one another greatly, but are still considered to be individual movements. Papal authority was stripped during these reformations, and all of Europe lived differently afterwards. While Catholicism still existed after the reformations and is still practiced today, many new religions exist today as an effect of the reformations. The political power that the Church held diminished and was replaced by the English state. Both the Protestant Reformation and English Reformation impacted the political power and religion of the Catholic Church and all of Europe. Without these movements, Christian religion would not be what it is today.

The Extent to Which England was a Protestant Country by 1547 In this essay, I shall be exploring the extent of how Protestant a country England was by 1547. The differences between Protestantism and Catholicism form a solid base in order to understand the situation in 1547 and decide which religion became more popular. Traditional Catholic beliefs rested on seven Sacraments: Baptism, Penance and Reconciliation, Last rites, Holy Orders, Marriage and the Eucharist. They believed in ‘Justification by Good works’.

The protestant reformation happened at the moment that it did because the Catholic Church was very a powerful force in Europe. It controlled people lives both spiritually and temporally. The church had so much power that it maintained political control over a large portion of Italy. The fact that the church held so much control over countries and governments became a point of contention among European countries such as the Holy Roman Empire, Italian city-states outside of Rome, England, France and Spain. The power of the rulers of these areas had greatly increased in the 14th century and they were eager to take the chances offered by a Reformation to weaken the grip of the Catholic Church in Europe and also to develop their own powers across the European continent. For quite some time the Catholic Church had been an institution rampant with internal struggles. Such as the Avignon Papacy from 1309 to 1377 when seven popes opted to live in Avignon, France and not reside in Rome which was and is the traditional home of the Papacy. The Pope and other high ranking church officials often lived opulent lifestyles rather than a more austere lifestyle that should befit a spiritual leader. Many church leaders and Popes maintained political powers. They led armies, waged wars and made many political decisions. Church offices were sold, and many Popes and bishops practiced nepotism to fill church offices. With all of these worldly issues for the Pope

Nationalism made the Catholics believe that Henry VIII was right to remove the pope even though they may not have agreed with Henry’s decisions. This change gave the Lutherans and other reformers great hope also, knowing now that their greatest rival, the pope, had been deposed. Unfortunately, other Englishmen who stood firm against the Act of Supremacy met strong opposition from the king. Soon after, another law was passed called the Law of Treason and Heresy. This law made sure that everyone recognized the king as the head of the church and more importantly, brought punishments to anyone who did not receive the king as the lawful head of the Church of England.

The Protestant Reformation and European expansion have both left political, social and economic impacts throughout history. The Protestant Reformation which was started in the 1500’s, by a Catholic man named Martin Luther caused political instability and fragmented the Holy Roman Empire. It economically caused the church to go bankrupt and socially allowed for the rise of individualism among the people; Luther gave the people of Europe the long needed reason to break free of the church. The Protestant Reformation and the need for new converts lead to the rise of European expansion. European expansion into the west resulted in a political increase of power for Europe, the social increase in slavery, disease and racism, as well as the