Why did the English Reformation happen?

             King Henry also had political reasons for becoming Head of the Church they were things to do with power. Henry wanted more power over England and thought the Pope had too much power and so he had another reason why he should have made himself Head of the Church. Also English bishops had to swear an oath of loyalty to Henry and not the Pope.

             Another cause of this change was to do with economy or money. King Henry dissolved some of the monasteries that were not doing their jobs properly and wasting the Church’s money they received from people buying indulgences. People bought indulgences because they thought they would get through purgatory more quickly. The money also came through people giving money to the Church. Some monks and nuns were not leading pure simple lives. Henry dissolved them and sold the land to nobles and gentry, kept the money and paid off for all the battles and wars he fought. The monasteries took up a quarter of England.

             There were religious reasons for the Reformation. Henry VIII changed Catholic Bibles from Latin into English so that people in the service could understand what was happening and what was being read to them in the service.

              King Henry VIII had a lot of reasons for the English Reformation happening. The most important reason for this I think was (As Head of the Church of England, Henry could divorce Catherine of Aragon.) I thought this was the most important reason because once he had become Head of the Church of England he could grant his own divorce and could change what he was not happy with and all of the above.

             As a result, our church has become independent from the Catholic Church. The Pope has no jurisdiction over the official religion, which is Church of England.