Why did Henry viii take England through the Protestant Reformation?

Answer 1

Although there is a complex history which informs the answer to this question, it essentially boiled down to two factors:

The Pope would not grant him an annulment of the marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Also, Henry the VIII did not wish to see any Catholic church funds being taken out of England and given to the Vatican.

Answer 2

Henry did not initiate a Protestant Reformation but the English Reformation which was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the English Catholic Church broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. These events were, in part, associated with the wider process of the European Protestant Reformation, a religious and political movement which affected the practice of Christianity across most of Europe during this period. Many in the English Church were interested in these ideas.

Henry had no aim to change the religious practices of the newly named Church of England, which remained broadly Catholic throughout his lifetime.

Henry's Catholicism was never in doubt: in 1521 he had defended the Catholic Church from Martin Luther's accusations of heresy in a book he wrote, probably with considerable help from Thomas More, entitled The Defence of the Seven Sacraments, for which he was awarded the title "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor) by Pope Leo X. Hardy the actions of a man who wanted to become a "Protestant". His break with Rome and the Pope was purely a political expediency to annul his marriage. When Henry died in 1547 his son Edward VI who had been raised as a Protestant, drove forward the change to a more Protestant Church.

Answer 3

Because he had met Anne Boleyn. He was so in love with her when he first met her. He loved her so much he decided that she should be his sola domina or sole mistress in English. But that wasnt enough for Anne, she wanted more power and only would she be fully his when they are married and she is Queen. So Henry, overcome by lust, asked the pope for an anullment (divorce). They said no because Queen Catherine (as she was then called) was a good Catholic lady and he should also be a good Catholic husband. Henry was outraged with such a response so that he created his own church and made everybody in the country acknowledge him as King and Leader of their Church otherwise they would meet their end. He then divorced Catherine for he does not have to look up to any higher authority for that is him and married Anne in his church! He then decreed that all future Kings and Queens would be the Highest Authority in The Church of England. That legacy has now been acccepted by nearly all Kings and Queens after him (His daughter Mary was a strict catholic and made the country catholic under her rule).

Answer 4

King Henry VIII wanted to be able to divorce his wives and marry new women so that he might have a male heir. Unfortunately for him, the Catholic faith does not allow divorce without a just cause, so Henry VIII supported the Protestant Reformation and the rise of Protestantism because, as a Protestant, he would be able to divorce his wives for any reason with no problem.