Why Did The Protestant Reformation Fail

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The Protestant reformation in Ireland had little success due to a number of factors. The organisation of the Protestant reformers and a language barrier made it a great deal harder to convert such a devout Catholic country.”The Reformation in Ireland was supported by both legislation and by a Protestant ruling class. Yet, reason and persuasion, legislation and coercion, and the Established status of the Church of Ireland failed to win the hearts and minds of the majority of people on this island” . This essay will look at the reasons the Protestant reformation failed in Ireland and when it was a failure. At the beginning of King Henry the 8th’s reign, Ireland was a Catholic country. However Henry was making many religious changes in England and he also wanted to make these changes in Ireland. Henry had married Catharine of Aragon but she had failed to give him a male heir. He decided to divorce Catherine and find a wife who could bear him a son. However, the Pope denied his request, Henry then made himself Head of the Church of England. He was declared Head of the Church of England by The Act of Supremacy in 1534. In1536 the Dublin parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, just like the English one. It made Henry supreme head of the Church of Ireland. It stated that he was “the only supreme head in earth in the whole Church of Ireland” . Henry also…show more content…
The ministers educated in the ways of the Protestant church were unable to communicate to their flock and community’s because the locals did not speak English. This alienated them from the Protestant church in a big way. There were far too many inadequate ministers appointed to dioceses and the Ministers that had trained well for the Church of Ireland did little to bring the new beliefs to the Irish speaking people. There were far too few clergy available who could make a difference in promoting the Reformation in
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