So lets say that if Henry VIII has a healthy son and that means that he doesn't want to get a divorce. Thus in turn England maybe stays Catholic. Might that mean Ireland goes Protestant to rebel against the English? Maybe John Knox has success with Presbyterianism there, or maybe we see a homegrown movement if the Church is more on the side of England. I'll admit I don't know much about history in this period other than the basics from high school and college European history, but might it be a plausible scenario?
If England were to stay Catholic, might that mean Ireland goes Protestant?
- Thread starter brunohusker
- Start date
No, my understanding of England's Irish woes was that it was less about religion, and more about exerting control over Ireland because English authority hardly extended past the Pale. That England was Protestant did not help matters, but attempts to change Irish local governance to a more mainstream form happened under Henry VIII, and was kept by his successors regardless of religion.
I'd say that at least until the last century it was a source of pride and also a way to point out English discrimination. I know by 1916 you had more socialists in the IRA and I doubt they were as keen on religion but still Catholic identity permeated Ireland to the bone and some of it had to be kind of a way of being against the English.
I doubt it. As stated up thread the Protestant-Catholic divide was a later factor in Anglo-Irish tensions. Henry's Church of England wasn't even very Protestant in form and wouldn't be until Elizabeth I. His Church of England (and the Church of Ireland that was set up in English held Ireland) was still doctrinally similar to the Roman Church.
The Irish would still be second-class citizens in their homeland at best and subjected to near serfdom at worst. That's what led to Anglo-Irish enmity and even if Henry didn't break with Rome, Ireland would still be a quasi-colony of the English.
The Irish would still be second-class citizens in their homeland at best and subjected to near serfdom at worst. That's what led to Anglo-Irish enmity and even if Henry didn't break with Rome, Ireland would still be a quasi-colony of the English.
I can't see Ireland converting as Protestant only because England remain as Catholic. It is much more complicate thing.
No. Ireland's Catholic faith and heritage was historically one of the strongest in Europe. Charlemagne used Irish monks to help educate the Frankish and Germanic monks, and throughout millennium Irish monasticism has kept the Catholic faith strong and alive within Ireland. The major religious butterfly I see is the strength of the catholic church within the Irish community in the last century; had England stayed catholic, the clergy would most likely either align with or be a willing collaborators with the English crown (mainly the latter). Therefore, a liberal nationalism might be stronger in the 19th century and the priests have less power than they did in OTL in the 20th century. But Ireland would undoubtedly stay nominally Catholic to this day, no matter the denomination (or faith) the English hold.
Last edited: