Ruminating About the New Religion
by Dr J In 1534, Parliament, under the influence of Thomas Cromwell, passed the Act of Supremacy and ‘recognised’ Henry VIII as the only supreme head of the Church in England. Later, and after many more convulsions, upheavals and a short lived return to Catholicism under his daughter Mary, there was recognised in England, an established Church. The Church in England, now with our good Queen as its head and perhaps only remaining adherent who remembers and believes what is in the Book of Common Prayer and 39 Articles, resulted from something no one thought would ever happen – a sudden and seeming overnight change and adherence to the new religion and its new rules. The CofE became the cultural and religious foundation for many years to follow, eschewing all things ‘papistical’ and embedding itself into society as its beacon and moral compass. Eventually, with the dawn of the 60s and the arrival of hip and cool vicars, it became an afterthought for many but not all. Occasionally some remember it is there. Vicars seem to have ceased to bother with the sort of preaching that helped those in the past to know how to live a good life and, just as importantly, how to have a good death. Then, in 1948, arising out of perceived need, the National Health Service was born, ostensibly to be comprehensive, universal and free at the point of delivery, based...
