How popular were the religious changes under Edward VI?

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D. Daniel L6 AJR

How popular were the religious changes under Edward VI?

In order to successfully answer this question we must examine the extent of Protestantism in England. By 1547 20% of Londoners were Protestant meaning that 80% were obviously not. The other areas which had fixed Protestant minorities included Kent, East Sussex, Essex, Cambridge, Bristol and the East Anglian ports were other places mainly due to the influence of foreigners entering the countries. In other places it was pretty much non-existent.

It’s a common belief that all the religious changes during Edward’s reign were popular. As A.G Dickens said; ‘the forest of Protestantism was spreading relentlessly across the landscape of the nation.’ By this he meant that although Protestantism was spreading, it wasn’t spreading because of its popularity but because of the pressures from those in authority.

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By examining churchwarden’s accounts and wills, the beliefs of ordinary people have been shown. The churchwardens seemed to have gradually destroyed the old Catholic practises and put into practise the wishes of the Crown. However, because there was a rapid restoration of Catholicism to England in 1553 this would seem to suggest that the old Catholic religion had still retained its popularity. It is also evident that many East Anglian parishes had carried on with traditional Catholic practises despite the pressure from the authorities. However, there is a lot of evidence suggesting the opposing view, for example the expenditure on ...

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