The Break from Rome in 1533 was definitely a…moment in history. Whilst Henry VIII’s choice to remove England from the Catholic church was not motivated by any type of religious thought, it had a lasting impact on English society in more ways than just the obvious. Henry himself was not so concerned about truly changing how the Church of England worked and until his death considered himself to still be an orthodox Catholic. During the reigns of his children, however, the religion of England changed from Protestant to Catholic and back again. Edward VI’s reign included the destruction of chancery chapels, and it has been stated that had he not died so young he would have overseen the slaughter of a greater number of Catholics than his oldest half-sister Mary did Protestants.
The stunted reigns of Edward and Mary did not give anyone in England a firm sense of security in their religion, but during Elizabeth I’s reign there was finally a stable, firmly Protestant England which we still know today. However, not everyone wanted to be Protestant.
It’s easy to understand why people would not want to convert to this new type of Christianity. The health of the soul was more important than the health of the body in this time, and the risk of your soul not being able to go to heaven was not to be taken lightly. But on top of that, personal belief is a powerful motivator and a good enough reason by itself to not convert.
