As a result of the Reformation, Protestantism is the most widely practiced religion in the modern United Kingdom, even though active participation in the church has declined in recent years.
[1] For centuries, Protestantism has played a crucial role in shaping political and religious life throughout Europe and beyond.
Despite the established and dominant position of the Roman Catholic Church, the proto-Protestant Lollard movement, founded by John Wycliffe, had considerable followers in England and some in Scotland from the 14th to the 16th century.
Early in the Reformation, one of the fundamental disagreements between the Roman Church and Protestant leaders was over the distribution of the Bible in the people's common language.
In the 14th century, John Wycliffe helped make the Bible available to all English-speaking people, regardless of their wealth or social standing.
Wycliffe translated the whole Bible into the English language because he believed that Englishmen needed to be familiar with the scriptures on their own terms in order to know Jesus Christ.
[2] Wycliffe was supported politically by John of Gaunt, the son of King Edward III, who held considerable power in government during the last several years of his father's reign (owing to his poor health) and throughout the minority rule of his nephew Richard II.
[3] Historians are divided on if the alliance between the two men was due to unorthodox religious views on Gaunt's part, mere political expediency for both of them, or some combination thereof.
This facilitated distribution at a lower cost, and soon the Bible was not only readable to English citizens, but also affordable for most people.
Leading reformers and philosophers of the time helped establish these doctrines by preaching to large groups of people.
Transubstantiation – Catholics believe that when they participate in the Eucharist, the bread and wine transform into the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ when the priest prays over it.
The practice of penance and the belief that good works could balance the punishment of sin or lead to salvation were particularly common.
[7] When Pope Clement VII refused to consent to the annulment, Henry VIII decided to separate the entire country of England from the Roman Catholic Church.
The Pope had no more authority over the people of England; this parting of ways allowed for Protestantism to enter the country.
[9] Henry VIII's successor, his son Edward VI, supported the Reformation, but his belief was spiritual as well as political.
James I fulfilled the efforts of Protestant reformers who had been supporting the distribution of Bibles in common language for decades.
While England struggled between Catholicism and Protestantism, Scotland was experiencing a significant impact from the Reformation and its ideas.
A strong Presbyterian following had developed, but the Church of Scotland did not agree with King Charles I's expectations of the Protestant religion.
[10] Oliver Cromwell, an English MP born in Huntingdon, emerged victorious at the end of the Civil War.
He organized the Assembly of Saints[citation needed], a firm and strict sect of Protestantism that was very similar to Puritanism.
The Assembly remained strong in England for 10 years until the reign of Charles II, who ended many of the strict practices[citation needed].
Catholics were not included in this act of Parliament, but members of other religions, most notably Protestantism, were officially protected from persecution based on their faith.
Knox sparked the Scottish Reformation in 1560 when he began preaching about Protestantism to large groups of people throughout the country.
[16] The religious and political histories of Wales and England were closely tied during the reign of the Tudor monarchs, and the impact of the Reformation in both nations was similar.