How Catholic Was England In 1547?

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King Henry VIII undertook a multitude of religious changes and reforms during his reign from 1529 to 1547. In the early 1530’s, Henry took the momentous step of declaring himself Supreme Head of the Church and during and around this period he was producing policy suggestive of England heading in a more Protestant direction; however, following this came a time when many historians agree that the ‘conservative King’ began to re-implement key Catholic doctrines which contrasted completely with the Lutheran or Protestant ideals first recognised. Questions remain about whether the reforms made at the beginning of Henry’s reign held enough significance at the end to secure a Protestant status for England - even when policies were becoming ‘more Catholic’; or conversely whether the policies implemented which re-enforced the Catholic beliefs were significant enough to re-establish England as a practically Catholic country. Perhaps it could argued that England had never really become a Protestant country at all...overall, how Catholic was England at the end of Henry’s reign. A major event towards the beginning of Henry’s reign was the Act for the Dissolution of the Smaller Monasteries in 1534, with the dissolution and plundering of the large ones following on from this in 1539. This was an extremely significant legal and practical symbol of reform which could certainly be seen to push the country in a Protestant direction. Monasteries not only aided Catholic vocation but also represented the key Catholic belief in purgatory, with monasteries being heavily linked to intercession of prayers so the removal of undeniably a move away from Catholicism. It could be argued that the purpose of the dissolution was primarily concerning land and money however, the effect of the dissolution - whatever the cause or purpose was the upheaval of a massive proportion of the Catholic clergy in
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