Why did Henry start the church of engand?

Answer 1

Well, arguably he didn't! Henry wanted a divorce from Katherine of Aragon, with whom he had failed to produce a son and heir. He had also fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, who was determined not to do as her sister did, and become his mistress. Henry tried to divorce Katherine; unfortunately, the pope, who was the only person at the time who could grant a divorce, was the prisoner of Katherine's nephew, so refused the divorce. Wolsey suggested that, as king, Henry made his own rules in his own country, and did not need the pope's permission - the claims of the papacy to be superior to any secular ruler had always been unpopular. Henry was God's representative in England, and therefore the natural ruler of the church in England. Parliament was bullied to passing the Act of Supremacy, which made Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England. That done, all Henry needed, Wolsey argued, was the agreement of the English prelates who, (with a few brave exceptions) were not going to argue with Henry, so they gave him his divorce.

However, Henry remained a Catholic to the end of his life - as one writer put it, at the end of his reign he was persecuting Catholics for treason and Protestants for heresy! It was in the reigns of his son, Edward VI, who was a fervent Protestant, and Elizabeth, who was a religious pragmatist, that the Church of England was really formed, with a more Protestant theological base.

Hope this helps!