How Protestant was England by 1547?

A-Level: History

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In this essay, I shall be exploring the extent of how Protestant a country England was by 1547.
In order to understand how changes during the period of 1536-1547 affected the religious state of England by 1547, we need to understand the concepts behind Protestantism and Catholicism. Traditional Catholic beliefs rested on seven Sacraments: Baptism, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick (Last rites), Holy Orders, Matrimony and the Eucharist. They believed in ‘Justification by Good works’. In other words, this meant that they believed that in order to reach heaven they can do a variety of things to spend less time in purgatory, thus reaching heaven faster. This can be most commonly done through indulgences (the acceptance of cash from Priests). An indulgence implies that the Priest has a direct link to God. However, the Protestant beliefs introduced by Martin Luther were completely different he believed in ‘Justification by Faith Alone.’ He believed in ‘Predestination’, the concept that you are already bound for one direction when you come in to the world i.e. heaven or hell. Most of Luther’s ideas spring from this concept. In addition, he also criticises the seven Sacraments. The main ones being: the role of the Priest, the Eucharist and the process of transubstantiation.
To what extent England was a Protestant country by 1547 is a complex one to respond to.
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