英国历史与宗教

The Background of Religion Reformation in Britain
Abstract：throughout history，so many important historic reformations happened and they have their reasons and background. Generally speaking, the reformation is in favor with the general public. This paper talks about the background of Religion Reformation in Britain including HenryⅧ，his nation and the society. Key word: religion reformation HenryⅧ divorce 1. The introduction and influence of the reformation Religion reformation in Britain in 16th century is a top-down religious reformation. HenryⅧ’s divorce is the blasting fuse of the reformation , however , what is hit behind the reformation is incisive social and historical reasons that are not to be ignored. It is in favor of new bourgeoisie, ordinary squires and the labor people. British religion reformation is an important part in all of religious reformation in Western Europe in 16th century, which makes the British reformation accomplished successfully. What is more, Religion Reformation consolidates the feudal kingship and strong promotes the development of capitalism. 2. The blasting fuse of the reformation In 1531, HenryⅧ wishes to divorce Catherine of Aragon because the marriage has not produced a male heir. His marriage normally would be illegal under ecclesiastical law because Catherine was the widow of his brother, but it had been allowed by a special dispensation from the Pope. Henry claims that the papal dispensation contradicted ecclesiastical law and that therefore the marriage is invalid. The Pope upholds the validity of the dispensation and refuses to annul the marriage. Later in 1533, Henry marries Anne Boleyn, and two months later he had the archbishop of Canterbury pronounce his divorce from Catherine. At the same year, Henry is excommunicated by the Pope. In 1534, Henry has Parliament pass an act appointing the king and his successor supreme head of the Church of England, thus establishing an independent national Anglican church. 3.HenryⅧ and his domination Tracing back in the past, HenryⅦ had restored stability and royal authority, but it may have been for the reasons of character, as much as policy, that his son resolved to augment his regal power. Therefore Henry’s reformation of the English church involved more complex motives and methods than his desire for a new wife and a heir. Henry asserted that his first marriage had never been valid, but the divorce issue was only one factor in Henry’s desire to reform the church. In 1532-1537, he instituted a number of statues, the act of appeal (Statute in restraint of Appeals, 1533), the various Act of Succession (1533, 1534 and 1536) the first Act of Supremacy (1536) and others --- that dealt with the relationship between the king and the Pope and the structure of the Church of England. Many factors contributed to the reformation: the decline of feudalism and the rise of nationalism, the rise of the common law, the invention of the printing press and increased circulation of the bible, the transmission of new knowledge and ideas among scholars and the upper classes. The English reformation was at the outset more of a political affairs than a theological dispute. Henry was a good enough of theologian to know that there was a minority opinion in western Christendom to precisely this effect. He was enough of an egotist, too, to fall captive to his own powers of persuasion ---soon he believed that papal primacy was unquestionably a sham, a ploy of human invention to deprive kings and emperors of their legitimate inheritances. Henry looked back to the golden days of the British imperial past, to the time of the Emperors Constantine and of King LuciusⅠ. In fact LuciusⅠhad never existed ---he was a myth, a figment of pre-conquest imagination. But Henry’s British “sources” showed that this Lucius was a great ruler, the first Christian king of Britain, who had endowed the British church with all its liberties and possessions, and then written to Pope Eleutherius asking him to transmit the Roman laws. In the way of religious reformation, Henry wants to consolidate his dominated position and become a great ruler, too. 4. The society at that time What is more, the trouble was that, with stability restored, and the Tudor dynasty apparently secure, England had started to become vulnerable to a mounting release of forces. It used to be argued that anti –clericalism was a major cause of the English reformation, but this interpretation has lately been challenged. Recent research has established that the majority of late medieval English clergy were not negligent or unqualified: Church courts were not usually unfair; probate, mortuary, and tithes disputes were few; pluralism, absenteeism, nepotism, sexual misconduct, and commercial moonlighting by clergy were less serious than once thought. On the other hand there were priests who failed to hold service at the proper times, who did not preach, and whose habits were aggressive –rector of Aldington in Northampton shire, cited before the Lincoln consistory court in 1526, had two children by his cook and marched about the village in chain –mail. In fact, it was all too easy for a priest to behave like other villagers: to make a mistress of his housekeeper, and to spend the day cultivating his glebe. Although the English Church was free of major scandals, such abuses as non –residence, pluralism, concubinage, and the parochial clergy’s neglect to repair chancel, where these occurred, continued to attract attention. Also tithes disputes, probate and mortuary fees, charges for saying mass on special occasions, and the trial and burning of heretics could become flash –points. In particularly, it was pointed out by prominent writers, notably the grave and learned Christopher St. German (1460—1541), that the Church’s procedure in cases of suspected heresy permitted secret accusations, hearsay evidence, and denied accused persons the benefit of purgation by oath-helpers or trial by jury, which was a Roman procedure contrary to the principles of native English common law –a clerical plot to deprive Englishman of their natural, legal rights. Such ideas were manifestly explosive; for they incited intellectual affray between clergy and common lawyers. All those bring the society into trouble. Acknowledgement: many factors contributed to the religious reformation in Britain, so we should analysis the event objectively. Henry wants to reform that is because he wants to something more, and those things are benefit for the people or not, we have been exploring. References:
The Oxford History of Britain (Kenneth O. Morgan) A Short History of Civilization A. G. Dickens, the English Reformation (London) (2nd Ed. 1989) The Reformation Parliament, 1529 - 1536 (Cambridge University Press, 1970). The History of the Reformation of the Church of England by Gilbert Burnet (Oxford University Press, 1829 Christopher Haigh, English Reformations (Oxford, 1993).
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