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Definition:
Although some of the most famous figures in the Protestant Reformation worked in
Germany and Switzerland, there were people working elsewhere in Europe for similar
goals. One of the places where Protestantism achieved major inroads was England -
although this owed at least as much to politics as it did to religious dissent.
The basics of the story of the English Reformation are widely known - English King Henry VIII wanted to marry a new wife, but the pope wouldn't let him. So, he separated the English church from the Roman Catholic Church in order to divorce his first wife and marry someone new. All of this is true, but there are a number of missing details which make the story more interesting and more complicated.
Originally, the man who came to be Henry VIII was not destined to be king - his older brother Arthur was and he was married to Catherine of Aragon, a daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. This was an important political union, so when Arthur died, a number of problems ensued. The solution was to have the new heir, Henry, marry Catherine.
Unfortunately, church law prohibited a man to marry his brother's widow - and besides, Henry wasn't all that interested in Catherine to begin with. However, it was a necessary union and so the pope was asked for a dispensation - which was quickly granted. So, once Henry reached the appropriate age, he married Catherine and the peace between Spain and England was sealed.
Unfortunately, neither were very happy with the other. Children are very important to political unions such as this and matters were not working out very well in this area. Catherine had six children, only one of which lived - a girl name Mary Tudor. At this time no woman had ever ruled England and Henry didn't really think highly of the prospect. Thus, the lack of a male heir outraged both his ego and his sense of political values. He was convinced that the problem was Catherine's, so he sought to have the marriage annulled in order that he might marry someone new - someone who would produce male children.
Henry thought he had a very good argument for annulment, too. After all, he had married his brother's wife against church law, despite the dispensation. This argument might have worked, except for the fact that the pope had important political factors to consider as well. Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, at the time the Holy Roman Emperor whose armies at the time were in control of Italy. Had Henry sent Catherine away as "unsuitable", Charles would have been outraged both at Henry and any pope who allowed it. So, the annulment which was request for political reasons was also denied for political reasons.
But Henry was not to be deterred; he conferred with Thomas Cramner, an academic who told Henry that he should be allowed to divorce and that Henry should also consult the English universities. Henry submitted his case to the theological faculties and most major universities agreed: the marriage was invalid and Henry should be free to marry someone new.
Although the motivation for this was obviously political, Henry's argument and its acceptance by others should be noted carefully. Henry did not simply assert that the marriage was invalid, but rather that it was invalid because it contradicted the Bible. Leviticus 21:14 prohibited a man from marrying his brother's widow. According to Henry's argument, the pope had no right to override God's laws - the Bible is absolute and only God can make exceptions. The pope is limited to making exceptions for church laws and customs which, in turn, must not contradict the law of God.
Henry was quite happy to hear the answer he wanted, so in 1533 he sent Catherine away and soon thereafter married Anne Boleyn. In order to solidify his hold on power, Henry had Cramner named archbishop of Canterbury and forced all of the clergy in England to submit to him rather than the pope.
The final and decisive act came in 1534 when the English Parliament passed the Supremacy Act, making the English monarch the supreme head of the English church - not the pope. Anyone who opposed this move for religious reasons was also declared an opponent of the English monarch, thus a political traitor. One such person was Sir Thomas More, lord chancellor and humanist who declined to swear the required oath of allegiance to Henry and therefore executed in 1535. Four hundred years later, the Catholic Church declared him a saint.
Reaction to these moves was mixed. Quite a few people supported Henry for purely political reasons. It was at this time that nationalism was slowly developing throughout Europe and people were objecting to the idea of a foreign power, even Rome, having any significant say in the political destiny of their country. Thus, they liked the idea that English churches were controlled by the English people.
This also occurred during the early stages of the Reformation which was sweeping across the continent. Although it had not yet taken hold everywhere, it was still making an impact. There were many people in England who appreciated the break from Rome for purely religious reasons. They, however, were doomed to disappointment because Henry did very little to advance the cause of religious reform in England. On the contrary, he tried to keep the Church as closely aligned to traditional Catholic practices as possible. What Reform ideas did spread were due mostly to the efforts of Cramner.
Unfortunately for Henry, he also had to endure disappointment because he didn't get the son he wanted - although the surviving daughter from his first marriage, Mary Tudor, was declared by parliament as ineligible for the throne, they had to declare that the one daughter from the second marriage, Elizabeth, was the proper heir. It was not until one of his other four wives, Jane Seymour, produced a son that he finally got a male heir: Edward VI (1547-1553).
Because the English crown employed political authority to protect Protestant ideas and oppose Roman Catholicism, England became a haven for Protestants who had to flee political and religious persecution on the continent. Cramner invited those who not only needed protection, but who also were able to help him. In the end. English Protestantism had an important influence on the development of Continental Protestantism when people eventually returned home.
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