What were the reasons for the religious changes in the period to 1536?
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Although the term reformation is associated with religious change, these changes that
took place had little impact on the doctrine of the Church in England
Henry’s wish for a divorce was crucial in the decision to break from Rome
The length of time Henry spent trying to get a divorce suggests that he didn’t want to
break from Rome
o So, he was not against papal authority
However, he had tried to pressure both Rome and the churches in England into agreeing
to the divorce, as well as weakening attempts by the Church to resist
o In the parliament of 1529 MPs attacked what they claimed were widespread
abuses in the Church
 This allowed Henry to claim that the Church needed reform
o In 1520 the Church was charged with praemunire, but this was withdrawn in
1531 on the payment of a fine
o In 1532 MPs asked Henry to take action against clerical abuse of their legal
powers
o In 1532 the Church had to surrender the right to enact new clerical laws.
 The clergy agreed and voted through the Submission of the Clergy
o The Act in Restraint of Annates in 1532 banned the payment of most clerical
taxes to Rome
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This destroyed resistance from the Church and were a warning to the pope
o But despite the increased pressure, nothing had been achieved by the end of
1532
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Henry had declared his desire for a divorce in 1527
It was only in 1533, with Anne Boleyn pregnant, that he decided to sever ties with Rome
o He declared that “this realm of England is an empire … governed by one supreme
head and king having the dignity and royal estate of the emperial crown of the
same, unto whom all sorts and degrees of people divided in terms of spirituality
and temporality, be bounden and owe to bear next to God a natural and humble
obedience to the king.”
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The Act in Restraint of Appeals prevented any appeals to outside authority
o I.e. the Pope
The Act also prevented Catherine from appealing to the pope to prevent the divorce
It also allowed the new Archbishop of Canterbury to pronounce on it
o The new Archbishop was Thomas Cranmer
Between 1634 and 1536 parliament would abolish paper authority in England:
o Through a series of statutes:
 Direct payments to Rome were stopped
 The Archbishop of Canterbury was giver the power of dispensation and
exemption that had previously been the pope’s
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The pope’s role in the appointment of churchmen ended
The definition of religious beliefs and practises was taken away from the
pope and given to the crown
However, the most significant change was brough about by the Act of Supremacy, 1534
o This recognised Henry as head of the Church in England
o The Act itself did not grant Henry this but confirmed the situation
 As well as the fact that he had God-given authority
This meant that the Church was now subject to control in it’s day-to-day running
By the end of 1534 Thomas Cromwell had been appointed the King’s deputy in church
affairs
o A position also known as viceregent
Was Henry motivated by the desire for power?
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Many accounts depict Henry as wanting to be supreme in all matters
o Some suggest this was the motivation behind the break, and that the divorce
had proven a reason
However, this would not be entirely true, given how long he spnt trying to convince the
pope to grant him a divorce
o Even the first Act of Annates was conditional
 It would give the pope the opportunity to grant the divorce in return fir
an abandonment of the break
A more convincing argument was that Henry wanted the wealth of the Church
o The Church was very wealthy
o The charge of praemunire had shown that Henry could easily obtain money from
the Church
o Cromwell had also promised to make Henry the “richest man in Christendom.”
However, this interpretation does not fit with the chronology of events
o The chronology suggests that the gaining of such wealth was a bonus, not the
cause
 It was only with the dissolution of monasteries that Henry gained
substantially
The final factor is the desire to bring about doctrinal change
1.
Increases Henry’s power
The Act of Succession –
March 1534
The Treason Act – Dec 1534
Act in Restrain of Appeals –
Feb 1533
The Act in Restrain of
Annates – Jan 1534
The Act of the Submission of
the Clergy – March 1534
The Dispensations Act –
March 1534
Henry’s financial gains
The Act for the First Fruit and
Tenths – Dec 1534
Changes in religious doctrine
and beliefs
The Treason Act – Dec 1534
Act in Restrain of Appeals –
Feb 1533
The Act in Restrain of
Annates – Jan 1534
The Act of the Submission of
the Clergy – March 1534
Act of Supremacy –
November 1534
The Dispensations Act –
March 1534
2. Changes in religious doctrine and beliefs often increased Henry’s power.
3. Henry desired more control over England as he feared that the pope could overrule him, and
as the pope is the higher power, the people in England would side with the pope rather than
him.