Was England Torn Apart by Religious Revolution in the Years 1547-1559?

The rebellions that occurred during the reign of Edward VI were mainly of a religious origin- Asses the validity of this view.

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 church in the Medieval era, however, was incredibly powerful and mostly unopposed. Salvation, to the religious, was and remains the most important aspect of faith. Religion without a fate after death is almost entirely hopeless and borders on nihilistic. The Catholic church used this incessant fear to fuel their political vendettas. This is made evident by the attempted squelching of the Reformation sparked by Martin Luther as well as the expulsion of the Moriscos, Jews, and Protestants from Spain. The church had successfully convinced an entire continent that the only true way to attain eternal life was through the doctrine of the church. This gave the Pope authority, power, and uncontested control over the Christian people, for a

To make an effective religious policy, there must be no opposition, it needs to be enforced, the monarch’s beliefs should be equal to the country’s beliefs, it should be stable with no ambiguity and people should conform. During the period of 1547-1549, Edward’s regent, Somerset, created a rather ineffective religious policy, with there being no clear statement of doctrine and with him repealing the treason acts and heresy laws, unrest was created, with people being able to voice their opinions without punishment. The First Book of Common Prayer was the main source of rebellion, because it was said to be too radical by some in the move towards Protestantism, but not radical enough by others, by being designed to keep the Catholics happy through the continuation of some practices, showing that it satisfied no-one. As well, the Prayer Book was not enforced during services, showing that it was an ineffective act. Also, it was rather irresponsible to implement religious changes when at war, because the soldiers were

2. A.F Pollard, The History of England - a Study in Political Evolution (New York, H Holt, 1912)

Religion can be argued as a more important factor in determining whether people supported Lady Mary’s or Lady Jane’s succession, because of the comfort and personal security having a faith provided, which collectively would result in a more balanced and efficient society. Given the political turbulence of the era: as in the previous decade, England was still recovering from the protestant reformation, wars with France and Scotland, the Somerset crises which almost led the nation to bankruptcy, if there was any moment where the people needed a sense of stability in the form of religion- it had to be this era. This means that because this essay is evaluating the factors why people- including laymen or “commons”, made the ultimate decision in

During the constant changes of Europe’s religious stances in the 16th century, many countries were fighting for a their own religious standpoint. This unrest lead to revolts and wars and because of the subject’s religious differences in a socially unstable society, these conflicts came between and divided the country. This issue was greatly shown in England, where new governmental policies made participants of the Pilgrimage of Grace to worry for the well being of the commoners in the country. These participants also started to work towards punishing Thomas Cromwell, the head of the King’s council. Those opposed to the movement worried for order, and continued to work for a successful commonwealth.

14. ’05 Compare and contrast the motives and actions of Martin Luther in the German states and King Henry VIII in England in bringing about religious change during the Reformation.

The period immediately following the Protestant reformation and the Catholic counter reformation, was full of conflict and war. The entire continent of Europe and all of it's classes of society were affected by the destruction and flaring tempers of the period. In the Netherlands, the Protestants and the Catholics were at eachother’s throats. In France it was the Guise family versus the Bourbons. In Bohemia, the religious and political structures caused total havoc for over thirty years; and in England, the Presbyterians thought that the English Anglican Church too closely resembled the Roman Catholic Church. Religion was the major cause of the widespread

In 1559 Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was crowned Queen. Elizabeth sought to find a middle ground during her rein (1558-1603) in England, by allowing both Catholics and Protestants to worship without fear of any repercussions. However, Gilbert (1976) that ‘Elizabeth I and her successors had legislated to make Anglican worship compulsory’ (p. 4). By introducing the Act of Uniformity of 1559 it laid out the rules of worship that both religions were to follow and reissued the Book of Common Prayer for use in worship. The Thirty-Nine Articles of 1563 also set to define the doctrine of the Church of England which set out a middle path between the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church and the Protestants (Wolffe, 2008). By the end of Elizabeth’s I forty five year reign, the majority of people in English society were Protestant. As the older, mainly Catholic members of society had died through old age (Christianity in Britain, 2011). Knight and Mason (2006) describe a dissenter during

By the turn of the 19th century, the Church of England grew into a dominant bureaucratic monster. Any account of English history shows how politics and religion became so interwoven that it is difficult to draw a clear line between these two forces. The two entities are largely one in the same; tyrannical in wealth and power. The elite strength possessed by the church of England coupled with the vast scope of this organization proved to be more of a detriment as the climate facilitated the growth of numerous internal problems. This, in turn, opened the opportunity for a variety of dissenting groups to mount a formidable uprising.

In Tudor England, the people were ruled by many different Royals. Every ruler had a preferred religion. The people were forced to change between Catholic and protestant; dependendent on the King or Queen. The consequence of choosing the “wrong” religion ranged from being be-headed, to being burnt alive. An example of this is when King Henry V111 remained Catholic whilst everyone else had to change to protestant.

Queen Elizabeth’s decision to put back the nation to a Protestant faith, following the previous Catholic based faith that her sister, Mary I, had set up in her reign, was heavily influenced by the constant change of religions, a religious turmoil, events and actions that was done following King Henry VIII’s time in 1509, and years after that. King Henry had broken with Rome, thus the Pope declaring himself as the head of the English national church. After him, Edward VI, Elizabeth’s brother had turned the nation into a full Protestant based faith but his reign had lasted for a very short time. Then again Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary, reunited with

During the early modern period, England suffered religious, economic and social changes that affected crime and social control. . Throughout the Early Modern period however, the government with the social and economic elite plus the

In 1940, during the celebration of the 300 years of the Revolution English, C. Hill wrote the small but still until today the fundamental study on the subject The English Revolution 1640. In it, the English Revolution is understood as a class struggle. It was revolutionary and progressive, while at the same time the destruction of the monarchy meant the abolition of the barriers to the development of the country and to the constitution of a more advanced social and political structure. C. Hill insisted