Which king split with the Catholic Church and declared himself head of the Church of England?

Which king split with the Catholic Church and declared himself head of the Church of England?

• A. Henry II
• B. James I
• C. Henry VIII
• D. Charles I

Answer: (C)

The question tests understanding of England’s break with Rome and the creation of an independent church under royal authority. Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church after the pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, then established the Church of England and declared himself its Supreme Head. This move, formalized through the Act of Supremacy in 1534, put the church under the crown rather than Rome and set the stage for England’s future religious landscape. The other rulers listed didn’t initiate this split. Henry II lived centuries earlier and his disputes with the church did not create a separate national church. James I and Charles I reigned after the Reformation and did not declare themselves head of a distinct English church in the way Henry VIII did.

The question tests understanding of England’s break with Rome and the creation of an independent church under royal authority. Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church after the pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, then established the Church of England and declared himself its Supreme Head. This move, formalized through the Act of Supremacy in 1534, put the church under the crown rather than Rome and set the stage for England’s future religious landscape.

The other rulers listed didn’t initiate this split. Henry II lived centuries earlier and his disputes with the church did not create a separate national church. James I and Charles I reigned after the Reformation and did not declare themselves head of a distinct English church in the way Henry VIII did.