What was the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants in England?

Answer 1

Roman Catholic AnswerFor the main part, conflicts between protestants and Catholics have been more conflicts between different peoples who happen to be Catholic or protestant. For instance, in Ireland, the Irish, who were fighting to save their nation, all happened to be Catholic, while the English were all protestant. Other conflicts have come about because of ignorance and/or intolerance. For the most part protestants have been brought up to believe that Catholics are not Christian and are worse than pagans. This has been very unfortunate, with disastrous results in some cases. I, myself, was brought up in a protestant household and Catholic beliefs were beyond the pale. I have heard that everbody was warned at my parents wedding to not tell my mother's grandmother that the bridegroom's mother was Catholic. All very sad.

Answer 2

I don't think there is conflict. I am catholic and I went to two catholic school and then a state grammar school in the north east, (I am 57 years old). My personal experience with protestants has usually been that they consider themselves the 'right' religion for English people and as they are the majority one can understand that.

And the catholics? That depends. I usually find middle class catholics like the idea of being catholics, it makes them a little different from the rest of the crowd, (middle class) and at church functions they are the posh part of the congregation, and they like that, too. Poorer, working class catholics, are either very devote and consider themselves God's chosen or not very devote and have no specific opionion about any non catholic religion. The people that I have met who have a chip on their shoulders about being catholic are usually people who would blame something else for their problems if they weren't catholic. As an individual, I guess that you could say that, but as to the conflict between the Protestants and Catholics in England, there definitely was one. The whole point of people taking the name Protestant was due to the fact that they protested, much like Martin Luther, against the Catholics, for the Catholics wanted everyone to fall in line with them, without thinking about their own opinions or even their wallets. By taking the "join the bandwagon" Propaganda technique approach, they were trying to establish Catholicism as the premier religion in Europe. It is too bad that Central and South America didn't protest, but then again, I guess that they didn't have anything better. It might have been due to the fact that they didn't have a choice, which sounds like the best reason.

Answer 3

They believed that Christianity depends on three elements: Sola Scriptura (by scriptures alone although contrary to The Bible), Sola Gracia (by grace only) and Sola Fide (by faith only and not traditions even though we are directed to follow teachings/traditions). This led them to reject any behavior that they felt did not originate in the bible or the New Testament, such as the existence of the papacy (even though Jesus basically designated Peter as the first 'pope' a)nd several sacraments. The catholics fought against this approach since it dismisses many religious institutes that they perceive as holy and true.

Answer 4

There are big conflicts over leadership and doctrine.

Catholics (Roman Catholics) accept the Pope as their spiritual leader on earth. Anglicans do not.

Catholics give prominence to Mary, Jesus' mother. Anglicans do not.

Both religions are Bible-based and believe in Jesus Christ, but historically both sides have suffered persecution and slaughter from the other side down through the ages.

Both sides are also influenced by the culture and politics of the countries in which they live, and by the views and practices of their parents or the society they associate with.

Both Anglicans and Catholics are loyal to their respective faiths.

Answer 5

Such a short question, the answer would require volumes. When the protestants revolted by denying certain truths of the Christian faith, the Catholics reacted in two ways: 1) they tried to show them their errors and save them from eternal perdition; for instance, the Society of Jesus came into existence to save people from this heresy; 2) they became very, I don't know how to put this. On the one hand, we had to deal with the very real problems that the protestants were protesting about, for instance, selling indugences. On the other hand we had to be very specific in detailing things that had just been assumed for centuries. I don't know if that is a very good answer but it's all I can think of at the moment.

Answer 6

Roman Catholic AnswerFor the main part, conflicts between protestants and Catholics have been more conflicts between different peoples who happen to be Catholic or protestant. For instance, in Ireland, the Irish, who were fighting to save their nation, all happened to be Catholic, while the English were all protestant. Other conflicts have come about because of ignorance and/or intolerance. For the most part protestants have been brought up to believe that Catholics are not Christian and are worse than pagans. This has been very unfortunate, with disastrous results in some cases. I, myself, was brought up in a protestant household and Catholic beliefs were beyond the pale. I have heard that everbody was warned at my parents wedding to not tell my mother's grandmother that the bridegroom's mother was Catholic. All very sad.

Answer 7

One thing particularly difficult for modern men to grasp is the fact that for centuries, the faith of the common people was always that of the King of Queen of the nation. To be anything else was considered to be a traitor to the state, with the exception of the Jews, of course, who have always been a separate case. Particularly painful for the English speaking people was the apostasy of the Tudors, as when King Henry VIII left the Church to satisfy his personal sins, he took his entire nation into apostasy, and not without a lot of bloodshed. The same thing happened in other lands, although not to the extent that England enforced its apostasy with such a ruthless hand. Since that time, protestant Kings and Queens have battled Catholic Kings and Queens and tried to paint the battle as a religious one to put themselves in the right and their opponents in the wrong. It was a dreadful wrong, and the worse because it was done in the name of the King of Peace.

Answer 8

Yes. It's called the Reformation.