Why Catholics and Protestants divided as separate sect?
The formal break from Roman Catholicism took place when Henry VIII (1491-1547), named Defender of the Faith by the pope, declared the Act of Supremacy in 1534, setting himself up as the head of the Church of England. Henry also closed the monasteries and divided their property among the gentry. In addition, he ordered that a copy of the Bible in English be placed in every church. However, Henry’s action was more political than religious. What he wanted was independence from papal authority, especially over his marital affairs. Religiously he remained Catholic in every way but name. It was during the long reign (1558-1603) of Elizabeth I that the Church of England became Protestant in practice though remaining largely Catholic in structure. It abolished allegiance to the pope, clerical celibacy, confession, and other Catholic practices, yet it retained an episcopal form of church structure in its hierarchy of archbishops and bishops as well as orders of monks and nuns. This conservatism
