How Did Henry Viii Changed Over The Years

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Religious policy in operation during the later years of Henry VIII’s reign was, in many ways, incredibly reminiscent of Roman Catholic doctrine. Henry seems, especially in his later years, to have favoured a church model that was similar to the Medieval English church, minus Papal influence. The dissolution of the monasteries between 1535 and 1540 was perhaps the most radical, and most famous, reformative act during Henry VIII’s reign, but it was one of the few dramatic changes brought to England by Henry’s break from the Catholic Church. It cannot be denied that certain of Henry’s policies were anti-Catholic and, by Papal standards, heretical. This does not change the fact, however, that Henry was, especially in his later years, a very conservative ruler who loathed Lutherism and was not overly interested in radical church reform.…show more content…
By 1540 Henry apparently changed his mind on the subject of the printing of the Bible in English entirely. With the 1543 Act for the Advancement of True Religion, Henry restricted Bible reading to men and women of noble birth, apparently out of concern that the laity would misinterpret the Word of God. This conservative stance could be used to argue that Henry was behaving more like a Catholic king than a Protestant one. However he also disagreed with the existence of purgatory, which, as it concerned the immortal soul of the individual and was thus very important, was alarming to many people. Henry also consistently maintained throughout his reign his belief that veneration of saints and relics, pilgrimages, and shrines were unnecessary, and banned certain traditional Catholic practices, such as the Creeping of the Cross in
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