In November 1534 the Act of Supremacy finalised the English break with Rome and confirmed that Henry VIII was the supreme head of the English church, not the Pope. The exact reason for this are not know, be it desire for divorce, the wish for wealth or a real concern from the King about the state of the Church at the time which was rife with corruption both financial and moral. But whatever the reason it was a historic event and whilst it did not mean a break with Catholicism directly it caused a greater accpetance of reformist ideas and eventually England would become a protestant country. All of this would cause many wars and ill-feeling from the continent and it would ultimately shape the face of Britain as it is today, we can clearly see how British culture differs from those found on mainland Europe. So my question is this: was the break from Rome and ultimately the reformationa positive thing leading to more tolerance and possibly even democracy in the long term or was it a negative thing as shown by the immediate religious intolerance created and the warring involved?

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