Reasons for reformation

• Henry started his reign as a good Catholic, even defending the Catholic Church from Protestant criticism and gaining the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ from the Pope in 1521
• • Protestantism came from Germany, where a priest called Martin Luther protested against the corruption of the Catholic Church.
  • He wanted to reform the church. 
  • This became the Reformation.
• Henry VIII's break with Rome was mainly caused by his desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
• Protestant beliefs

  • The head of the Church should be individual rulers, not the Pope.
  • Churches were there to teach people the ‘word of God’ rather than focus on administering the sacraments. 
  • The bible should be translated out of Latin so ordinary people could read it.
  • Superstition and corruption e.g. pilgrimages, images and paying for indulgences should be removed.
  • The bread and wine given out during mass was symbolic and didn’t really turn into the body and blood of Jesus.
  • The Catholic belief that it did was called transubstantiation.
• Reasons for Henry VIII supporting the Break from Rome

  • Henry began to support Protestant ideas to pressure the Pope for his annulment to Catherine of Aragon.
  • He was also concerned about the state of the Church.
  • In one case, a man who refused to pay high funeral costs to the Church was arrested and possibly murdered by the clergy.
• • Henry also knew he could gain a lot of money from the Break with Rome.
  • E.g. banning the payment of Annates to the Pope meant that this payment now came to Henry and could be used to pay for his expensive foreign wars.
  • However, it only raised a small amount, so was probably not Henry’s main reason.