Protestantism (part of Christianity) is the largest religious demographic in the United Kingdom.
Before Protestantism reached England, the Roman Catholic Church was the established state church. Scotland, Wales and Ireland were also closely tied to Roman Catholicism. During the 16th century, the English Reformation and the Scottish Reformation in differing ways resulted in both countries becoming Protestant while the Reformation in Ireland did not enjoy the same degree of popular support.
Protestantism influenced many of England's monarchs in the 16th and 17th centuries, including Henry VIII, Edward VI, Elizabeth I and James I. Persecution was frequent for followers whose faith differed from that of the reigning monarch and violence and death was commonplace for the first 100 years of the Reformation. Reformers and early church leaders were persecuted in the first decades of the Reformation, but the non-conformist movement survived nonetheless.
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.
Overview
Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It is mainly split into three large branches, the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church. The Protestant Church is the youngest of these, resulting from the Reformation of 1517 which was in protest at major problems within the Roman Catholic Church. Within England and Wales, Protestantism was definitively established in the 1530s when Henry VIII separated the Church of England from Rome.
The Protestant church does not have one human leader and groups have divided off into denominations with different Christian beliefs. Prominent branches include Anglicanism, the Reformed tradition (including Presbyterianism and Congregationalism), Methodism, Pentecostalism and Baptists.
For centuries, Protestantism has played a crucial role in shaping political and religious life throughout Europe and beyond. The Protestant Reformation began in the early 16th century with Martin Luther, a German monk and philosopher. It developed further on the island of Great Britain, especially in England, and produced many notable figures.
United Kingdom before the Reformation
Before Protestantism reached England, the Roman Catholic Church was the established state church. Scotland, Wales and Ireland were also closely tied to Roman Catholicism. 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 Reformation
English language
In Catholic England, the only Bible authorised for use was written in Latin Vulgate, a translation of proper Latin considered holy by the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, only clergy had access to copies of the Bible. Ordinary citizens were dependent on their local priests for the reading of scripture because they could not read the text for themselves. 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.
Later, the invention of the printing press made it easier for reformers to share copies of the new Bible. In 1526, William Tyndale published the first complete Bible in print. This facilitated distribution at a lower cost, and soon the Bible was not only readable to English citizens, but also affordable for most people. Once the common people had access to the Bible, many left the Catholic church and joined the Protestant Church. The rapid growth in biblical reading was a notable event of the Reformation. Soon several new Protestant doctrines were emerging that challenged the Roman Catholic Church. Leading reformers and philosophers of the time helped establish these doctrines by preaching to large groups of people.
Religious controversies
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. All Protestant leaders rejected this belief as false.