Which is the more accurate characterization of the English Reformation:
1) Henry VIII was unable to control his personal life and marriage, leading to long term political and religious consequences such as the English Civil Wars, the weakening of the English monarchy, and the total fracture of English religious culture.
2) In a calculated move, Henry VIII asserted his royal authority over England by eliminating the competing authority of the Pope. He established the basis for absolutist monarchy (unchecked royal authority) in England, and created a new English culture based on Anglicanism.
In my personal opinion, Henry the 8th is one of the most troublesome king through European history. He made his own national independent religion named as the Anglicanism, separated from the Catholic church of the pope. The only reason why he decided to do this was to allow the divorce with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
ReplyDeleteHowever, whatever the reason was, his religious division generated a lot of political consequences. He banned and deported the clergies of Roman church, disobeyed the pope, and most importantly, declared himself as the highest chief of the Anglican Domain. This leaded to the strong monarchy of Elizabeth and after kings.
Therefore, I conclude that Henry the 8th's behavior was not precisely planned move, but it created new strong English culture and monarchism of further kings.
I believe that the more accurate characterization of the English Reformation is number 1). This is because Henry VIII made the very selfish decision to take over the religious affairs of England and in doing so he brought down many people and uses Parliament to force the Clergy into submission. Also, he does everything in his power to get what he wants without his country in mind. There were long term political, religious, and social consequences that derived from the irrational decisions of Henry VIII.
ReplyDeleteThe move of eliminating the Pope was very drastic and it was because Henry was desperate for a son. Many problems appeared between the Pope's power and the king's needs, such as needing permission from the Pope to marry Catherine of Aragon because she was the widow of Henry's brother, Arthur. This shows that the king depended heavenly on the Pope if he wanted to do something and it had something to do with the Church, and he would have to go through the Pope to get what he wanted. The creation of Henry's own branch of religion to completely separate from the Pope. I don’t so much agree with the non-restricted authority because Parliament was trying to satisfy the new idea of the king being head of the church by restricting power of the clergy. This became an effective way. Also, there was a check and balance sort of system because when it came to religious changes, the king had to go through Parliament.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I believe that Henry VIII did not plan for the consequences that were in direct effect of him eliminating the authority of the Pope. Although I do not think Henry VIII planned for the consequences, there is no doubt that by eliminating the authority of the Pope, he was able to assert royal authority. Taking away the power of the Pope gave Henry VIII control over all things having to do with religion. He could deny Catholicism, and even appoint his own high church officials. All of this power given to Henry VIII after eliminating the power of the Pope, could not be bestowed upon a single person. Because of this, any fundamental changes made in religion must first be approved by parliament. One big change included passing the "Submission of Clergy" which placed canon lay under royal control and thereby the clergy under royal jurisdiction. Also the "Act of Supremacy" was passed which declared that Henry was the "Only supreme head in earth of the Church of England". These laws that were passed, greatly increased the power, and the range of power the king had, but in my opinion did not help establish the basis for absolute monarchy. I say this because as Chelsea said there was a system of checks and balances with Parliament and the King.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first choice. King Henry did not put his people in consideration as he passed new laws and changed religion in England. Kind Henry was only focused on finding an heir and several wives. He weakened the English Monarchy and after his death, he left England in political distress for his son to repair. King Henry did change England, but the effects were negative.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the 2nd decision. Only a few thing is his social life were intertwined were the country. most things were separated between politics and home life. Plus, the English monarchy wasn't weakened. If anything it was strengthened by taking power away from the church in Rome and moving it to England. Instead, he got rid of the competing pope and set up absolutist monarchy. It was unchallenged except by parliament. But this plan wasn't necessarily calculated.
ReplyDeleteThe more accurate characterization of the English Reformation is that Henry VIII was unable to control his personal life and marriage, leading to long term political and religious consequences such as the English Civil Wars, the weakening of the English monarchy, and the total fracture of English religious culture. The reason why is because Henry VIII did not care about other people as he was making changes in religion and in laws. He was very selfish and only cared about himself and he only cared about wives and hears. Also, after his death he made England wait to become a genuinely Protestant country.
ReplyDeleteThe more accurate characterization of the English Reformation is that Henry VIII was unable to control his personal life and marriage, leading to long term political and religious consequences such as the English Civil Wars, the weakening of the English monarchy, and the total fracture of English religious culture. The reason why is because Henry VIII did not care about other people as he was making changes in religion and in laws. He was very selfish and only cared about himself and he only cared about wives and hears. Also, after his death he made England wait to become a genuinely Protestant country.
DeleteChanging the religion of England officially from Catholicism to Protestantism was an extremely drastic move that changed the country's history forever. So, I personally don't think that Henry VIII broke from the church just because he wanted to get a divorce. In fact, creating the Church of England was a great idea that many of the common people accepted and loved. Anglicism, Henry's new religion, put him as the head of the church and also gave him power. For the first time since Ancient Rome, England was truly a separate kingdom that didn't have to answer to Italy.
ReplyDeletePolitically, it did not set up Henry VIII as an absolute monarch. As Chelsea and Ben said, the English Parliament still had a say in government. However, power was completely focused in England, everyone on Parliament was English. There was no more answering to a pope thousands of miles away in the Vatican, which definitely brought relief to the English monarchy.
I also don't think it weakened the English monarchy. When Henry VIII died, there was not a clean transition to Queen Elizabeth I. Mary I, Henry's oldest child, reigned for a few years and attempted to turn the kingdom Catholic again. However, after her death, Queen Elizabeth I became the monarch of England, ruled in her own right and maintained her father's new church. England entered a Golden Age, which may not have been possible if England was still Catholic. I think that the Church of England helped the country officially move out of the Middle Ages and created a new kingdom that was for the better.