Faith Under Pressure · Week 3 · Grades 9–12
Guided Notes: St. Thomas More
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
The humanist at court
Thomas More was born in London in blank 1, studied at Oxford and trained as a lawyer. For several years he lived near the Carthusian monks of London and shared their prayer. He weighed a religious vocation before choosing marriage and public life.
He became one of Europe’s most admired scholars, a close friend of Erasmus and the author of Utopia (blank 2). He gave his daughters the same classical education as his son.
Henry VIII valued him. More was knighted in 1521 and served as Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523. In 1529 he became blank 3, the highest legal office in England.
From Chancellor to the Tower
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1478 | Write your answer |
| 1516 | Write your answer |
| 1529 | Write your answer |
| 1532 | Write your answer |
| 1534 | Write your answer |
| 1535 | Write your answer |
| 1935 | Write your answer |
| 2000 | Write your answer |
The king’s great matter
Henry had no surviving son with his wife, blank 4 of Aragon. He wanted the Pope to declare the marriage invalid so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. Pope Clement VII did not grant it.
Between 1532 and 1534 Parliament cut England’s ties with blank 5 and recognized the king as Supreme Head of the Church of England. More stayed away from Anne Boleyn’s coronation in 1533.
In April 1534 he was asked to swear an blank 6 under the Act of Succession. He was willing to accept Parliament’s right to settle who would inherit the crown. He would not swear to the parts that rejected the Pope’s authority.
Silence, trial and witness
For more than a year in the blank 7, More would not take the oath and would not say why. He knew the law could not treat silence as treason. He wrote prayers, letters to his daughter Margaret and A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation.
On July 1, 1535, he was tried for treason. He was convicted on the testimony of Richard Rich, which More insisted was false. Only then did he speak plainly: no parliament could make a layman head of the blank 8.
He was beheaded on July blank 9, 1535. He is remembered as saying he died “the king’s good servant, and God’s first.”
Apply it
Which statement best matches how More understood conscience? Circle one.
- A A strong feeling that no one else may question
- B The right to do whatever seems best to me
- C Loyalty to my own side, whatever it decides
- D A judgment formed by study, prayer and the Church
Why is that the right answer?
Apply it
A group chat is piling on a classmate, and you are asked to add your name to a post you think is false. Which response is closest to More’s? Circle one.
- A Add your name, then apologize in private
- B Decline to sign, and attack no one in return
- C Post an angry thread exposing everyone
- D Sign it, since one name changes nothing
Why is that the right answer?
Take a side
For more than a year More refused to lie, but he also refused to say what he thought. Resolved: when you believe something is seriously wrong, staying silent is not enough. You are obliged to speak out.
My side: ☐ Agree ☐ Disagree
- More had a family to protect and a legal defense that depended on silence. Does that change his duty?
- John Fisher spoke openly in defense of Catherine of Aragon. Was his way better, or just different?
- Is there a moral difference between not lying and telling the whole truth?
- Online, is declining to post the same as agreeing? Who reads your silence, and how?
- When does speaking out help the person harmed, and when does it mainly serve the speaker?
My strongest reason, with evidence from the slides:
The best argument for the other side, and my response:
Let us pray
“We must obey God rather than men.”
Acts 5:29
Lord God, source of all truth, form our consciences in your light.
Make us good servants of our communities, and yours first.
Give us courage without bitterness and honesty without pride.
St. Thomas More, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
God’s first
Thomas More gave up the highest office in England rather than swear to what he believed was false. His feast, shared with St. John Fisher, is June 22.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Thomas More shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: For seven days, put your name only to what you believe is true: every post, like, signature and “I agree.” Notice how often you are asked.