Compare And Contrast Martin Luther And King Henry

King Henry VII and Martin Luther both sought out to seek reformation in Europe. They both had vastly different reasons for doing this, as well as coming from vastly different backgrounds. Henry and Luther both chased reform for personal reasons in the beginning, however the type of reform each leader wanted was vastly different.

Martin Luther and King Henry both sought out reformation for personal reasons. King Henry had a very personal need that while being a member of the catholic church, he could not have met. Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon, who could not provide him with a son. Henry wanted to divorce her and get the pope to annul his marriage, however, the pope refused. Luther had different personal reasons for leaving the church. Luther had personal beliefs that went against what the catholic church stood for. …show more content…
Henry had already made plans of marrying another woman (his mistress) shortly after his annulment. However, since the pope refused Henry broke off from the Catholic Church and created the Church of England. By creating the Church of England, Henry was allowed to have his marriage annulled and he even instilled mainly Catholic beliefs in the Anglican doctrine. Henry signed the Act of Supremacy in 1534 that established the English monarch as the head of the Church of England. The Pope had no designation over his new church. This only added to the power of Henry VII. He began to make money off of selling the church offices, the exact things the Catholic church was doing that Luther despised. All in all, Henry used his new church to add to his power and make him even