HENRY VIII AND RELIGION
Condition of the Church in the 1520s
Most people, educated and uneducated, remained instinctively loyal to the Catholic Church
and its teachings. However, there was a definite strand of anti-clericalism, which Wolsey did
nothing to reduce.
With the advent of printing, more people became aware of the criticisms of taxes going to
Rome to an extravagant Pope. People were also aware of the shortcomings of the clergy,
personified by Wolsey with all his pomp and ceremony, two illegitimate children and living
openly with his mistress until 1519. Thus, when the Reformation began in Europe, there
were already those in England who would be sympathetic to Church reform.
In the late 14th century, John Wycliffe was criticised for his beliefs that scripture was more
important than the Pope and that there was too much emphasis on venerating the saints at
the expense of personal piety. Descendants of his followers, known as the Lollards, survived
in small numbers and were found mostly in the south-east of England and some other cities
such as Bristol.
The other strand of dissent from Catholic beliefs stemmed from the events in Germany
following Martin Luther’s arguments that contradicted some key aspects of Catholicism- his
95 Theses- in 1517. He and other reformers published their beliefs, which stressed the Bible
and criticised many Catholic rituals.
Luther’s arguments were reaching England by the 1520s, especially through merchants and
traders.
The spread of Lutheranism in England was facilitated by William Tyndale, who started to
publish parts of the Bible in English.
Their numbers were small, but they assumed much greater importance when criticism
became directed at the Catholic Church as part of Henry’s attempt to get a divorce.
Wolsey and Church reform
In his capacity as Papal Legate, Wolsey was able to instruct English bishops to carry out their
duties more scrupulously and to order inspections of the quality of religious life in
monasteries and other religious institutions. As a result, over two dozen religious houses
were dissolved.
Wolsey was also interested in promoting religious learning to improve the quality of the
clergy, partly funded by the closing some monasteries. While he was Papal Legate, he was
responsible for removing from office eight unsuitable heads of monasteries. He planned to
fund a school in his hometown of Ipswich and to establish Cardinal College in Oxford, but he
had fallen from power before these could be properly established.
Wolsey was strongly opposed to the spread of Protestant heresy in England and encouraged
Henry to take a stand against the new ideas of the German reformer Martin Luther, which
led to public burnings of Lutheran texts in May 1521. For this, Henry was rewarded with the
title ‘Defender of the Faith’ by the Pope.
However, Wolsey’s position in the Church did not always bring him praise. To some, he
embodied everything that needed changing.
He collected a wide range of religious titles and posts, however Wolsey could not hope to
fulfil his religious duties in any of these posts, so he was permanently absent while a deputy
acted for him. Because of this, Wolsey attracted criticism for the twin vices of absenteeism
and plurality.
, Historian Richard Rex (1992): “There is nothing in Wolsey’s administration of the Church of
England to justify in terms of reform the enormous legatine powers devolved on him from
the papacy.”
Attempts to progress with the divorce question
As Henry’s dispute with the Pope over his divorce worsened, the ideas of the reformers
began to prove more attractive.
In 1528, William Tyndale published The Obedience of the Christian Man, in which he argued
that kings had authority from God which gave them responsibility for the souls as well as the
bodies of their subjects, and that royal authority was supreme against any power. The book
was banned, though Anne Boleyn had a copy sent to her from France, and brought it to
Henry’s attention.
During Henry’s campaign between 1529 and 1534, two clear objectives emerged: he put
pressure on the English clergy not to oppose him in obtaining the divorce, and he also put
pressure on Pope Clement VII; Henry moved from putting pressure on the Pope to
challenging the Pope over who should control the English Church.
Pressure on the clergy and the Pope, 1529-33
1529- Parliament was encouraged to voice anti-clerical feelings- Thomas Cromwell MP
began collecting evidence of abuses.
1530- 15 of the clergy were charged with supporting Wolsey’s abuse of power against the
King. Scholars from Oxford and Cambridge were sent to European universities to find
support for Henry’s divorce.
1531- Henry demanded that the clergy should recognise him as ‘sole protector and supreme
head’ of the Church. A compromise was reached: he was accepted as supreme head ‘as far
as the law of Christ allows.’
1532- Thomas Cromwell introduced the ‘Supplication Against the Ordinaries’ into the House
of Commons- a petition calling on the King to deal with the abuses and corruption of the
clergy. January- Act of Parliament passed preventing the payment of annates to Rome.
March- Henry demanded that the Church should agree to the ‘Submission of the Clergy’- a
document giving him the power to veto Church laws and to choose bishops, even if not
approved by Rome. Resignation of Sir Thomas More accepted.
1533- Henry secretly married Anne Boleyn (now pregnant). Act in Restraint of Appeals was
passed by Parliament, denying Henry’s subjects the right to appeal to the Pope against
decisions in English Church courts. This law effectively prevented Catherine of Aragon from
seeking the Pope’s arbitration when the divorce case came before the courts.
Establishment of Royal Supremacy
A series of Acts of Parliament were passed defining the nature and organisation of the
Church in England.
These laws systematically stripped away the Pope’s control and transferred power in key
areas to the King.
This was the Henrician Reformation as far as Henry was concerned- a political reformation
over who controlled the Church.
