Religion In 16th Century England

Religion was an ongoing cause of issues in history, and the Church of England was no exception. Issues with the monarchy ruling the church in Britain was the reason for many debates, wars, civil issues and rights to the throne. Initially the Church was under Papal rule, making the Pope have control over something the Throne did not. Hunger for power in the sixteenth century was not limited to land control and civil control; it spread right up to the Church of England causing many problems for the monarchy and Papal authority. The argument during this time was whether or not the monarch had the right to rule church and state, or if the church was meant to be run by Papal authority.
The Church of England has a deep history going back to the …show more content…
A main factor in this questioning came from King Henry VIII. Henry wanted his marriage to Catherine annulled, and his marriage would normally be illegal under church law because Catherine was the widow of his brother, but it had been allowed by special consideration from the Pope. Henry claimed that the Papal consideration contradicted church law and therefore the marriage was not legal. The pope upheld his choice and refused to annul the marriage. The underlying cause was the fact that many believed that the authority of the church should belong to the English monarchy not the Pope. Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself the head of the Church of England (1534), removing the church from the authority of the Pope. During this time Henry also forced the Dissolution of the Monasteries, this was viewed as suppressing the catholic faith. He also started statutes, such as, Statute in Restraint of Appeals, 1533, various Acts of Succession 1533-36, and the first Act of Supremacy in 1536. These acts all dealt with the relationship between the King and the Pope and how the Church of England should be structured. Henry’s belief in the independence of the Church was the dominant influence in making religious policy. Those who still worshipped Catholic rites during Henry’s rule were quietly moved into secrecy. Henry’s son …show more content…
By having political affiliations the monarchs chose rules of the church to follow that suited their political alliances. Affiliations with Scotland made them include Scottish traditions into the Church of England, but bad blood between the British and the Irish made them turn the church away from Catholicism even more. There are arguments that the fact that the Irish worshiped under Papal rule it made the tensions between Britain and Ireland worse. The relationship between France and England was even worse; Henry VIII went to war with France three times during his reign. The national religion of France was Catholicism and during this time though there was a large Protestant following, they were greatly persecuted. This was a major contributing factor to these wars; with France under Papal rule and the Protestants being persecuted the British monarchy was livid, giving them plenty of cause to declare war. During this time Henry declared France to be Britain’s number one