Beth Gibbons
How accurate is it to say that, in the years 1509-88, England went from being a nation that
was Catholic to one that was genuinely Protestant?
In the years 1509-88 England faced a significant change, in that the country moved from being a
Catholic one, to a protestant one, with the Church of England. To evaluate whether it is accurate to
say that England went from being a nation that was Catholic to one that was genuinely Protestant, it
is important to define ‘genuinely Protestant’ as a majority of the country choosing to be Protestant
and leaving behind Catholic traditions. It can be argued that England turned to a genuinely
Protestant nation to a great extent, due to the influence of the Break from Rome, the actions of
Crammer in Edward’s reign and the Elizabethan compromise.
One could argue that during Henry’s reign England went to being a nation that was genuinely
Protestant. In 1525 Henry was named ‘Defender of the Faith’ by the Pope for his commitment to
Catholic faith. However, by 1534, due to the Act of Supremacy, he had broken from Rome and
Protestantism had been given legal status in England, compared to previously when it had only been
an underground movement, such as the White Horse Group. Henry’s chief advisor, Cromwell, was in
charge of the ‘Great Matter’ of Henry’s annulment and of the reforms that followed. The Act of 10
Articles, in 1536, moved England away from Catholic doctrine by only emphasising three sacraments
and being ambiguous about the Eucharist, moving England towards being a genuinely Protestant
nation. Cromwell also helped organise the dissolution of the monasteries (1536-39) and destroyed
Thomas Beckett’s shrines in 1538, in order to demonstrate how Catholic traditions were no longer
permitted in England. A turning point in Henry’s reign was Cromwell and Crammer convincing Henry
to allow the English translation of the Bible in 1538, this was a significant development in the
transformation to a genuinely Protestant nation, as previously Henry had executed William Tyndale
who had attempted to translate the Bible into English. This demonstrates how during Henry’s reign
England made notable developments into being a nation that was genuinely Protestant.
On the other hand, one could argue that Henry’s reign did not make remarkable progress to turning
England into a genuinely Protestant country due to the fact the changes were not permanent. In
1539, the Act of 6 Articles moved back towards Catholic doctrine (celibacy for priests and
emphasising the importance of transubstantiation) and in 1543 the King’s Book enforced a more
traditional and Catholic form of mass. This demonstrates how legislation prevented England from
moving towards a genuinely Protestant nation. There was also large amounts of resistance from the
people of England, which demonstrates how the nation was not genuinely Protestant. For example,
the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) was the largest rebellion faced by any Tudor monarch and was largely
caused by discontent over the rapid religious reforms and in the 1530s 85% of wills still included
Catholic traditions. This portrays how during Henry’s reign England did not move to a genuine
Protestant nation.
However, it could be argued that during Edward’s reign England went from being a nation that was
Catholic to one that was genuinely Protestant due to the actions of Crammer and the Protestant that
emerged in Edward’s reign. During this time, intrinsic doctrinal developments were established, for
example the Book of Common Prayer, both that passed in the 1549 Acts of Uniformity and 1552,
detailed a much more Protestant doctrine, such as by being ambiguous about transubstantiation.
