Phillip wrote:annie wrote:I grew up with my parents telling me that Henry had "made up" the church of England in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Imagine my surprise when I studied Tudor history.
So he made up a church to ensure that he had a legitimate male heir who could be the next king of England?
Hi, it's been a while since I studied this, but here's my response:
No. He didn't 'make up' a church.
If you read a little about the English Reformation, you will realize that it was a much more complicated than that. It can be argued that the lack of an heir was a significant factor in what happened, however if one looks at the historical context, it's clear that people were already moving away from religious orthodoxy and questioning religious 'truth' claims. Martin Luther's 95 Theses had spread around Europe by 1518, seven years before Henry started the process of trying to have his marriage to Catherine annulled, and Anne's friends and supporters are known to have been influenced by Protestant Reformers.
Henry married Anne in 1532. He was excommunicated and diplomatic relations between Rome and England were broken off in 1534. Henry then became head of the church in England. I see the introduction of an English Bible in 1538 as a significant moment in the reformation, not an event that occurred because of Henry's runaway libido. In fact, there is very little evidence that Henry was libidinous (Charles II fits this description MUCH better than Henry).
Anyway, it's a complex issue involving politics, religious reformation, love and the desire to have a legitimate, male heir. Interestingly, Henry never renounced the doctrines of the Catholic Church and he was always considered to be a conservative, as opposed to a reformer. And, of course, the reformation was a process, not an event, which means that the continuation of the protestant reformation in mainland Europe and the excommunication of Elizabeth I etc. also influenced the shape of the church in England.
'Henry made up the church of England' is something I have only ever heard in LDS Sunday school classes (maybe they say it in Catholic Sunday school classes too - I don't know as I've never been to one).