As established by Henry VIII in 1550 to distance himself from the Catholic Church and the Pope (and make it possible for him to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon), the official religion of England at the beginning of the Victorian period, circa 1850, was that of the Anglican Church, known as the Church of England. Nonetheless, there were other religions that were quite important in the country, mainly Catholicism and Methodism, which was greatly known thanks to John Wesley and grew under Victorian times. There was also a movement of anti-Church, notably with the Age of Reason of Tom Paine, in 1794, and the apparition of spiritualism. The initiators of such movements where referred to as dissenters, and there were many dissented groups at the time. The Victorian period, up until the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, was therefore a time of religious confusion, but also, as we will see, of great charity, as well as of birth of new beliefs.
But, Anne was Henry’s second wife which has never been a “normal” thing. Henry had changed England’s religion from Catholicism to the Church of England (Protestant) and put himself at the head of the church. He did this so he could divorce Catherine of Aragon, and marry Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII did this multiple times, six to be exact. Later in time his oldest daughter, Mary, married.
In the early 16th century, the Protestant Reformation divided the unity of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation movement began in Germany led by Martin Luther. His speeches and writings were passed on all over Europe with the help of the printing press. It started in response to the rising sense of corruption in the church. For instance, “the sale of indulgences for the benefit of the church of Rome specifically for the rebuilding of St. Peters Cathedral provoked harsh criticism, especially by those who saw the luxuries of the papacy as a betrayal of apostolic ideals ” (Fiero 119).
The defeat brought about English nationalism and in contrast Spain was humiliated and nearly emptied its national treasury, (Defeat of the Spanish Armada). During the first half of the sixteenth century England experienced the Protestant Reformation. In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church in Wittenberg, Germany. Little did he know this would start a new religion called Protestantism. King Henry VIII of England was at first opposed to Luther’s ideas, but when he broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s, he supported Protestantism.
The Dutch Republic, where Locke spent time, had been founded as a secular state which would allow religious differences. This was a reaction to Catholic persecution of Protestants. Once the Calvinist Church gained power, however, they began persecuting other sects. In France, religious conflict had been temporarily quieted by the edict of Nantes. But in 1685, the year in which Locke wrote the First Letter concerning religious toleration, Louis XIV had revoked the Edict of Nantes, and the Huguenots were being persecuted and forced to emigrate on mass.
But that’s not the only reason religion caused the civil war, King Charles believed in the divine right. It was when the king/queen believes that god put them on the throne. So Charles took all the power because of this and Parliament didn’t want to go with his decision which contributes to the civil war. Also he made Scottish churches uses English prayer books which caused riots and England went to battle with Scotland. England lost.
Within the public intensions the king wanted to bring the clergymen into the sphere of his subjects. Clergymen of England were under the influence of the Pope, and saw the king as a second leadership figure. The Monasteries were also an outdated system that needed to be changed, for the better according to Henry VIII. The Dissolution would also show if the monasteries were suitable to serve as hospitals and as educational centres for the people of England. However, Henry and Cromwell had their own private intensions to dissolve the monasteries.
He married a Catholic: Henrietta Maria. This caused great uproar amongst his people and Parliament. Parliament tried to stop him marrying a Roman Catholic in fear of Catholicism gradually seeping back into the country. Since the reign of Elizabeth, the country had been strictly Protestant. In 22 years, this was the first major sign of religious trouble.
Therefore by reforming the English Church and removing the Pope and making Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church in England, there was a revolution in the relationship between Church and State. Also as Thomas Cromwell, who masterminded this manoeuvre, had used parliament to enforce the reformation the principle that King-in-parliament was the highest form of authority. This sat very well with Henry VIII and appealed far more to those who lent to the positive and idealistic though secular form of anti-clericalism. This is one reason why the English Church did need to be reformed in the 16th century. Another reason the English Church may have needed reforming would be that many people lost enthusiasm for religious orders and religious images in the 16th century.
He reduced clerical privileges and, by charging the clergy with Praemunire, he undermined their power as representatives of the Pope in order to strengthen his own. Henry set about introducing the Bible in the vernacular and reducing the number of holy sacraments, having declared himself head of the Church, he began to make England a Protestant country. However, historians are divided over the extent of Henry’s influence and his motives. Some believe that the reformation was a ‘grassroots’ and progressive change caused either by anticlericalism and corruption in the church or by opposing movements like Lollardy and Lutherism. Even those who believe that the reformation came from above, like Haigh and Scarisbrick, disagree over Henry’s motives, whether he was persuaded by his desire for Anne or his pressure for an heir or by the influential factions in court or even by the financial or political advantages a break with Rome would offer.