Lydia Harrison

(2014)

Was Henry VIII a Protestant?

The real engine that drove the Reformation in England was political not religious. 1 This, David
Newcombes significant quote, is written about King Henry VIIIs reasons for beginning the long
reformation that, with the eventual accession of Elizabeth I to the throne, turned England from a
Catholic country to a Protestant one. It supports the idea that Henry reformed the Church, not
because he himself was a devoted Protestant, but because he knew it would provide him with
political gain.2 Indeed, in the early decades of his reign, Henry had rejected some of the reformist
ideas of Martin Luther and was even given the title Defender of the Faith by Pope Leo X in
1521. However, it is a cert that by the end of his reign in 1547, and in the few years preceding it,
Henry appeared to be becoming a Protestant and, as Virginia Murphy writes: Henrys stand was
potentially radical [he] always contained an implicit challenge to the Popes dispensing
power.3 But how far he was actually committed is debated amongst scholars. Using various
sources and close analysis, this essay will introduce the important themes, such as the Kings
personal convictions, upbringing and political gains, that will contribute to the argument of where
Henrys true religious belief really did lie.
It must be noted that much of Henrys early life was inherently Catholic. If the word of Lord
Herbert of Cherbury is to be taken as true, Henry VII had originally intended for his second son
to become Archbishop of Canterbury.4 He married his first wife, Catholic Catherine of Aragon,
after his older brother Arthur left her a widow with his death in 1502. It had been their father,
Henry VII that suggested they marry; this was through a desire to pacify Englands religious
1 D. G. Newcombe, Henry VIII and the English Reformation (London: Routledge, 1995), p. 62
2 David Cressy and Lori Anne Ferrell, Religion and Society in Early Modern England (New York: Routledge, 2005), p. 2
3 Virginia Murphy and G. W. Bernard (Ed.), The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church
(Yale University Press, 2007), p. 27

4 Lord Edward Herbert (of Cherbury), The Life and Raigne of King Henry the eighth (1672), p. 2
1
HI0531

Lydia Harrison

(2014)

relationship with Spain. Indeed, Giles Tremlett writes about the marriage: Henry VII was
informed that his sons future parents-in-law were suitably impressive and powerful. Spain was a
great ally to have against the age-old enemy of France. 5 This would prove to be significant two
decades later in the Holy League against France, after which Henry was pronounced Defender of
the Faith. Notably, if the King had been brought up as a Catholic, his faith would not change due
to the religious belief of eternal punishment. From this, it would appear that Henrys upbringing
would have him as a Catholic, not a Protestant.
However, Henry did move away from Catholic faith, breaking with papal Rome and
passing the Act of Supremacy in 1534. In doing this, he would have knowingly put himself at risk
of the punishment a heretic would receive: death, and then his afterlife in Hell. 6 It is clear that,
personally and theologically, Henry could not have been a Catholic to risk damnation heaped
upon his soul.7 So, unquestionably, Henrys true faith cannot be elucidated from his early and
personal life only. Aside from his personal convictions, there were closely linked political factors
affecting his personal life that drove him perhaps not away from Catholicism, but towards
Protestantism.
A major example of this would be his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Historians
debate whether Henry moved towards Protestantism not for religious reasons, but because he
recognised that divorce, and therefore a male heir, could come more easily through movement
away from Catholicism. Indeed, Kenneth Austin writes: the establishment of the Church of
England had initially been a by-product of Henry VIIIs campaign to secure a divorce from
Catherine of Aragon.8 The Catholic Church did not recognise, let alone grant divorce in the

5 Giles Tremlett, Catherine of Aragon: Englands Spanish Queen (London: Faber & Faber, 2010), p. 36
6 Samuel Seabury, The Continuity of the Church of England in the Sixteenth Century (New York: Pudney and Russell,
1853), p. 71

7 Seabury, Ibid. p. 70
2
HI0531

Lydia Harrison

(2014)

sixteenth century.9 When Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry began a relationship with
Anne Boleyn. The King needed a legitimate heir to the throne, which would mean that any child
he fathered would have to be in wedlock. By becoming Head of the Church of England in 1534something that, because of the Pope, he could never have done if he were a Catholic- Henry
effectively gave himself complete power and right over his divorce, and in turn, the freedom to
marry Anne Boleyn to produce an heir. This again presents the argument that Henry VIII was not
a religious Protestant, but was drawn towards the religion because it would give him the political
gain of being able to divorce his wife.
Nevertheless, the fact that Henry was able to divorce his wife because of Protestantism
can be seen as superficial 10 when compared with the religious reasons behind the movement away
from Catholicism. After the break with Rome, the Act of Supremacy pronounced Henry
supremum caput- supreme head- of the Church of England. This is extremely significant in
relation to Henrys faith, because becoming head of the Church was an act with very religious
connotations; it would be difficult to justify if Henry VIII hadnt been a Protestant. It must be
considered that by being Supreme Head of the Church, the King was able to control and influence
the religion of not only his subjects, but his citizens too. As England had been largely Catholic for
centuries, Henrys Protestant thinking must have been considerably strong to want to reform the
traditional ways.
But while becoming Head of the Church of England certainly did bare Henrys religious
leanings, what must be stressed is how far he actually sympathised with the reformist ideas of
theologists such as Martin Luther. Though the King did eventually break with Rome and reform
the Church of England, as suggested by Luthers Theses, in the early years of his reign, Henry
8 Kenneth Austin, The Life and Writings of Immanuel Tremellius, From Judaism to Calvinism (Aldershot: Ashgate,
2007), p. 60

9 Chris Trueman, The Reformation, www.historylearningsite.co.uk/reformation (last accessed 25.10.2014)

10 James Warner, Henry VIIIs Divorce: The Literature and Politics of the Printing Press (Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer Ltd,
1998)

3
HI0531

Lydia Harrison

(2014)

had rejected Luthers proposal. Allan Massie writes: Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five
Theses [and] Henry VIII responded with a book affirming Catholic Orthodoxy. 11 If the King
truly believed in the religion of Protestantism, it could be almost certain that he would perform a
radical reformation on the Church. This, however, was not the case. When the reformation
gained pace and became more religiously influenced, Henry metaphorically put his foot down
and stopped further changes. If he halted the further reform of the Church- and in doing so, the
movement away from Catholicism- his commitment to Protestant must be called into question.
This leads into the idea that the influence that Henrys advisors and the people he
surrounded himself with- in particular, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer- had over Henry,
cannot go unstated. The King surrounded himself with men that would help him achieve the
agenda he had set out for himself: divorce from Catherine of Aragon and to gain money for
military exploits. Perhaps the most important point in relation to Henrys commitment to
Protestantism, though, is the fate of these men. Cromwell, of course, was executed at Tower Hill
in 1540. By this time, Henry had largely achieved what he had wanted: divorce and money from
dissolving the monasteries. However, he resisted further Protestant changes suggested by
Cromwell and his advisors in the years leading to the end of his reign. The Act of Six Articles in
1539 demonstrates well this resistance and to an extent, explains why Cromwell was executed.
The articles reaffirmed traditional Catholic doctrine as the foundation of faith for the English
Church, and almost certainly proved to many Protestants that Henry did not want an Evangelical
reformation12 and was still a Catholic at heart. 13 With this, Henry effectively halted further
Protestant reforms and to ensure that he was no longer influenced by Cromwell, the King had him
executed. Indeed, Wagner and Schmid write: the act also represented a political defeat for

11 Allan Massie, King Henry VIII was never a Protestant, The Telegraph (June 2013)
12 John Guy, The Tudors: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: University Press, 2013), p. 42
13 J. R. Tanner, Tudor Constitutional Documents (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), p. 96
4
HI0531

Lydia Harrison

(2014)

Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer, and the other reformist leaders at court. 14 With many
reformists and Protestants now doubting Henrys true religious belief, the debate continues.
Another important issue that further presents Henrys faith and that must be examined is
the dissolution of the monasteries. It is another key issue that could be seen as a political pull
factor for Henry VIII and Protestantism. It would, on the surface, appear to be a move performed
by a King who was insistent on quashing the Catholic religion. However, the idea of closing
monasteries had first been suggested in 1529 by Thomas Lord Darcy as a way of the crown
obtaining more money. Nothing came of the idea: it came four years before Henrys divorce from
his first wife, Catherine of Aragon; it was before Henry had reason 15 to move towards
Protestantism. Margaret McGlynn writes: the political consequences are of vital importance
the dissolution of the monasteries was predominantly an economic issue. 16 Her view supports the
fact that in 1536, when the King needed money for his various military campaigns- such as the
conquest of Ireland- he went ahead with the dissolution. Monasteries possessed money for
Henrys military campaigns and land for him to sell. Indeed, it has been accounted that Henrys
normal income before 1536 was about 100,000 a year. Between 1536 and 1547 he received an
extra 140,000 a year from the dissolution of the monasteries. 17 With analysis of this evidence, it
would appear once more that Henry VIII was not a Protestant by religion, but knew that by
dissolving the Catholic places of worship, he would gain large amounts of money.

14 John A. Wagner and Susan Walters Schmid, Encyclopaedia of Tudor England (California: ABC-CLIO, 2011), p. 1015
15 David Selwood, How a Protestant spin machine hid the truth about the English Reformation, The Telegraph (2014)
http://tiny.cc/TelegraphSelwood last accessed 25.10.2014

16 Margaret McGlynn, The Royal Prerogative and the Learning of the Inns of Court (Cambridge: University Press, 2003),
p. 211

17Henry VIII , the Grace of God and the King of France , Defender of the Faith, and Lord of Ireland, St. Hughs (Surrey:
St. Hughs), p. 24

5
HI0531

Lydia Harrison

(2014)

Despite this, though, while the King did gain an extra 140,000 a year through the
dissolution of the monasteries,18 it cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt that he did this
purely for the money. Dissolving Catholic places of worship had huge consequences for
Catholicism and indeed for England as a whole. An extract from the report that Thomas
Cromwell received from Robert Aske in 1536 reads: The closing of the monasteries means that
religious services will not be carried out, and the poor will not be looked after. The monasteries
are much loved by the people. 19 Taking into account this extract and what it stands for, it is
necessary to stress that Henry must have been at least somewhat committed to Protestantism to
change a countrys religion and close or sell well beloved 20 abbeys, houses and monasteries.
This also supports the point that passing the Act of Supremacy further enforced Henrys
commitment to Protestantism.
To conclude, most items discussed indicate that it would not be unreasonable to say that Henry
VIII was a political Protestant, but not a Protestant by religion. Despite the dissolution of the
monasteries and the reformation of the Church, after analysis of the evidence above, it is clear
that the King certainly benefitted through higher income and the divorce of his first wife,
Catherine of Aragon. The importance of these points almost definitely would have contributed to
his shift in religion. However, the importance of his personal convictions cannot be overlooked.
While it is true there were political factors pulling Henry towards Protestantism, he had
previously been influenced by his advisors- in particular Cromwell and Cranmer- which
absolutely would have contributed to his own belief. Indeed, David Loades writes: Thomas
Cromwells influence was easily discernible. 21 Overall though, the term Protestant, when in
18 St. Hughs, Ibid.
19 R. Chaurasia, Extract from Thomas Cromwells reports- Northern England History of Europe (Starke: Atlantic
Publishers, 2002), p. 167

20 R. Chaurasia, Extract from Thomas Cromwells reports- Woolsthorpe on Lincolnshire, Ibid.

21 David Loades, Thomas Cromwell: Servant to Henry VIII (Gloucestershire: Amberley, 2013), p. 104
6
HI0531

Lydia Harrison

(2014)

keeping with Henry VIII, can at best be described as an umbrella term. That is to say that on the
surface, Henry appeared to be a Protestant, but on closer analysis, there were a number of issues
that make for a split between religion and politics. King Henry VIII was a political protestant, not
a religious one. In the words of Peter Marshall: Henry himself was clearly no Protestant role
model.22

22 Peter Marshall, Religious identities in Henry VIII's England (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), p. 2
7
HI0531