The Reformation and Brexit

November 31, 2017, was the quincentenary of the start of a campaign to reform the Christian church, known as the Reformation. Inspired by perceived abuse, Martin Luther (1483-1546), an Augustinian friar, questioned the authority of the church, especially its sale of indulgences to raise funds to pay for the construction of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, by nailing ninety-five theses (proposals for discussion) to a church door at Wittenburg in Germany. Luther’s intention was to initiate a discussion on a number of issues, but his excommunication became the catalyst for major reform. He translated the Bible from Latin in German to make it accessible, an objective aided by the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg a few years earlier. Luther’s writing on many issues formed the tenets of what became Protestantism: that the Bible, not the papacy, was the source of religious authority and that salvation could be attained by faith alone, with a big emphasis on individual conscience. Challenges to Papal abuses by earlier reformers and the Reformation led to a widespread reform movement and religious anarchy, resulting in the establishment of the Protestant Church, shattering Western Christianity in the biggest upheaval seen since the Latin and Greek regions of the Roman Empire split over a thousand years before. It led to religious wars for two centuries, leaving a legacy of division throughout western Europe. Rulers in some countries used the religious discontent to further their own interests.

King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547) wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, but, failing to receive papal approval, in 1533 he renounced the spiritual authority of the Pope and declared himself supreme head of a national Church in England. He started seizing church property and disbanding religious orders. Prior to that, England was a strong Catholic country. Protestantism was imposed with much bloodshed as well as the destruction of property and religious art. On Henry’s death in 1547, he was succeeded by his son, Edward V, to 1553, whose regime sought to promote Protestantism in England and Ireland. On the death of the sickly young king, he was succeeded by his half-sister, Mary , a devout Catholic, to 1558, who was determined to overthrow the Reformation and whose harsh treatment of Protestants caused her to be remembered as ‘Bloody Mary’. She was succeeded by her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth , who reigned for forty-five years (to 1603), and saw herself as a Protestant sovereign, firmly establishing the Anglican Church in England and (less successfully) in Ireland, where the Counter-Reformation was underway. Under the influence of John Calvin and the leadership of John Knox, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland was established in 1560.

The vast majority of the population in Ireland remained Catholic and resisted the imposition of the Reformation. England’s change to the Reformed Church and Ireland remaining loyal to Roman Catholicism aggravated the already testy colonial relationship. These developments were to have huge implications in Ireland for freedom of worship, land ownership and civil rights, all of which were to germinate later unrest.

Many are now referring to England’s break from Rome and Europe in general as “the first Brexit”. “The second Brexit” arises from the outcome of the United Kingdom (UK) referendum on 23 June 2016, when a majority of 51.9 % voted in favour of leaving the European Union (EU). Negotiations are making slow progress on what are called three key issues, ‘people, money and Ireland’. The first refers to the rights of UK citizens in the EU and the rights of EU citizens in the UK. The second issue is the settlement in respect of financial obligations entered into while the UK was a member. The third, Ireland, involves preserving the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the common travel area, and avoiding a hard border on the island after the UK leaves the European Union. The desire of citizens of the United Kingdom to govern themselves, with no external control, has a long history.

Bernard O'Hara's latest book entitled Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish is now on sale in the USA and UK as a paperback book at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or Barnes and Noble

It is also available as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).

An earlier publication, a concise biography of Michael Davitt, entitled Davitt by Bernard O’Hara published in 2006 by Mayo County Council , is now available as Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).