Religious Identities in Henry VIII's England

Download or read book Religious Identities in Henry VIII's England written by Peter Marshall and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henry VIII's decision to declare himself supreme head of the church in England, and thereby set himself in opposition to the authority of the papacy, had momentous consequences for the country and his subjects. At a stroke people were forced to reconsider assumptions about their identity and loyalties, in rapidly shifting political and theological circumstances. Whilst many studies have investigated Catholic and Protestant identities during the reigns of Elizabeth and Mary, much less is understood about the processes of religious identity-formation during Henry's reign.