Culture 1 [Escribir el ttulo del documento] Was reformation a political o religious movement?

In those times, politics and religion were closely related, The line between them is unclear since in a certain way Religion was political. There was a mixture of personal, political and religious aspects since Henry VIII had personal reasons, Monks no longer lived according to the rules of poverty but making money. The catholic Church was very rich (Henry was short of money). The Pope seemed to have a political power than a religious one. And it was also a time of changes, where some movements wanted to bring back Biblical and New Testament Theology. When I say that it had personal reasons, I am taking into account the fact that Henry VIII wanted to be Head of the Church in England in order to be free to divorced Catherine of Aragon and be able to marry Anne Boleyn. He persuaded the English bishops to do so, and was finally named. But this was a personal and political movement only, since Henry was still a Catholic. He gradually severed all links with Rome, and England became politically Protestant, although the popular religion was Catholic. Henry named Thomas Cromwell as his new minister and confiscated the lands and riches of the monasteries taking all of them to dissolution. He distributed this new lands to merchants and landowners, becoming very popular among them, gaining their favors and solving some economic problems he had. As for the religious aspect of the Reformation , we can say that it officially started in 1.517 when Martin Luther challenged the Roman Church on the matter of Indulgences. While Luther had no idea of the impact this would make on the German society and the world, this event changed the course of history. It marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times. As I said before, The papacy was corrupt; monasticism and scholastic theology had declined. there was a revival of the Greek and Roman classics; men with a spirit of inquiry and independence were discovering the new world; the printing press had been invented, and the Greek New Testament republished. The Rennaisance was a helping factor as well, because it took men to think and use their minds. The Renaissance brought humanism, but the Reformation brought true Christianity. These things were seen as part of God's plan to bring about the greatest religious revival since the first three centuries of the Church. The Reformers did not believe that Roman Catholicism and Protestantism were just two different forms of Christianity. They believed and taught that Roman Catholicism was heretical

Culture 2 [Escribir el ttulo del documento] and abandoned its religious faith. Roman Catholicism was a religion of works, but Protestantism was the true Christian religion based on God's grace appropriated by faith. The Reformers were not tolerant of Rome, for they sincerely believed that Rome was holding souls in bondage with no hope of salvation Going back to history, once Henry VIII died; his son Edward was too young to govern. So the country was governed by a Catholic and Protestant council. People were not happy with the new religious principles, nor with the English prayer Book. While Edward was dying, his sister Mary was preparing to take the throne. She was catholic, and persuaded Parliament and catholic bishops to restore Latin services and symbols of the religion. People approve her Catholicism, but disapprove her marriage to Phillip of Spain, claiming it gave too much power to foreign people. Religious tensions grew, so Mary burnt hundreds of protestants, which made her unpopular. When she died, her sister Elizabeth succeeded. Elizabeth brought times of prosperity, peace and reconciliation to a torn England. Taking all this into account, I cannot say that Reformation had only political or Religious causes. In my opinion it was a mixture of both, plus the Humanist movement all over Europe. It was a time of changes, it was a revolution that cause important restorations. It was destructive, and constructive since it gave the right of all men to examine and interpret The Bible for themselves. It also changed the views in regard to the substance of Christianity or the way of salvation was seen, and in regard to the organization and ordenances of the Christian church. So, all things considered, these factors go hand in hand. The political aspect was managed by the important people (lords, kings, members of the church) and the religious aspect affected mainly to the peasants, to the citizens life.