Examples Of G. R. Elton's Reformation

G.R. Elton shows how the reformation was political through the ideas that it was king support and king suppress and controlled by King Henry as an example and Euan Cameron did not have as strong of an argument by saying that the reformation was more religious through Martin Luther. The King support showed that the reformation was political because the reformation required the power of the princes and to get that power, they needed their support first. For example, for England to switch from a certain branch of Protestantism to another, they needed the support of the Pope and King to make it happen. The Church of England also forced people to accept that King Henry was the superior ruler of the church, showing that the reformation was political because the King was the leader of the Church. In addition, Elton argues that the governments required uniformity and that in that age, a government could no thrive with religion as its base of government. The king’s support shows the reformation was political because it needed the power of princes, made
First of all, the King Charles V tried to suppress the Protestation with the Peace of Augsburg, which allowed the princes to select if they wanted Lutheranism or Calvinism for their territory. That act being passed shows that it is a political movement because of the political power used to get it passed into effect. Also, King Henry VIII took over the Catholic Church so he could get a divorce with his wife. He had to suppress the Church in order to do that with his political power. Lastly, the Catholic Church could not survive if the Kings suppressed it. That shows how that is a political movement and not a religious movement because if it was a religious movement, it wouldn’t have continued. So in conclusion, the reformation was a political movement because of the King’s suppressing