Edward VI: Religion In England

762 Words4 Pages
Edward VI was a radical protestant, influenced by other Protestants such as the likes of Thomas Cranmer and John Cheke. According to J.P. Sommerville, Edward was ‘a precocious, strong-willed child, he was trained from the tenderest years to rule, and embraced Protestantism with youthful dogmatism.’ Henry VIII is remembered as the English monarch who broke with the Roman Church. However, it can be argued that Henry was only attracted to Protestant doctrine in a limited way, and remained Catholic to some extent, only making basic changes to religion to benefit his own pursuits. It can be said that although Henry VIII, had removed the pope as head of the church in England, he had not changed a great deal. It can be argued by some historians (excluding Elton) that major changes did occur under Edward. Edward focused on and changed four main aspects of religion; removal of Catholicism, the dealing of Protestant activity, ceremonial change and doctrinal change. The first key change under Edward was the introduction of the first Book of Common Prayer. Many sources state this…show more content…
Many Catholic practices were removed. For example, the Book of Homilies supported the Lutheran belief of justification of faith alone – a key element of Protestantism which went against catholic practices about going to heaven. The repealing of the Act of 6 Articles in 1547 removed all aspects of Catholic doctrine, showing that the official doctrine was imposing Protestantism and removing Catholicism. The New Treason Act of 1552 made it heresy to question royal supremacy over the Church. This officially out the Pope and Rome and was a further attack on Catholic beliefs. Also, the Second Book of Common Prayer was successful in completely removing any traces of Catholicism. This infers that perhaps there was a significant protestant
Open Document