How did Henry VIII change Christianity?

When Henry VIII consolidated the wealth and power of his throne, he did so in part by dismantling the monasteries, taking their valuables—essentially for his own wealth—under the guise of tearing down the opulence of the papacy and its influence in his kingdom. And many monasteries were literally dismantled and torn down. As a result of this, you have the near-extinction of monastic life in the United Kingdom at that point.
Henry's influence on Christianity can also indirectly be seen in particular through one of his wives and his children. Anne Boleyn and her family had long been supporters of the evangelical movement (although still moderately Catholic). With Anne's growing influence on Henry and her eventual rise in status, she found herself in a position to show greater support through patronage to reformers like Simon Fish. Young King Edward, upon Henry's death, continued to support the new Church of England and disfavor Catholicism. When Mary took the throne, however, all that changed: she openly persecuted Protestants and re-established Catholicism. Finally, we have Elizabeth, with the strongest role in the further development of Anglicanism/Church of England, striking a compromise between the beliefs and practices of Catholics and Protestants in her realm.
So, you can see, beyond Henry's direct influence on Christianity, his actions carried influence down the line. He is really to be credited with the stronghold of Protestantism in England, Scotland, and Wales, in spite of the fact that he was still essentially Catholic in everything but name and papal allegiance!


Henry VIII contributed greatly to the undermining of Western Christendom. Prior to the Reformation, of which he was such an important figure, there was one faith, one Church in the West. However, in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, Western Christendom split in two between Catholics and Protestants. Although Henry himself was quite conservative when it came to religious matters, he unwittingly assisted the Protestant cause by directly attacking both the spiritual and temporal authority of the Pope. After the pontiff refused to grant Henry a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, the king formally broke with Rome, declaring himself Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Despite his theological misgivings over Protestant teachings, Henry saw a breach with Rome as a way of consolidating the wealth and power of his throne. In the long run, Henry's fateful decision also led to the establishment of the principle of cuius regio, eius religio throughout Europe. The term is Latin for "Whose realm, his religion," and simply means that the ruler of each territory would get to decide the religion of his subjects.

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