Highlight the significance of religious causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace (PoG)

Religious causes were undeniably of great significance to the PoG; the dissolution of the smaller monasteries in 1536 caused significant widespread discontent, as evidenced by the main demands of the rebels, which called for a restoration of the monasteries. There was also significant popular anger with Henry VIII's wider religious reform; however, none of the discontent was directed at Henry, rather it was directed at his "evil advisers", Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer. Reformers' attempts to alter practices created fear and uncertainty, as Tudor society strongly believed in heaven, hell, and purgatory, and the changing of practices and the dissolution of the monasteries was seen as being spiritually detrimental to the soul. The religious motivation behind the rebellion is evident in the name, with "pilgrimage" alluding to a peaceful Catholic rite of passage. Also, the discontent towards religious changes is highlighted by the fact that 9 of the 24 Pontefract Articles were religious grievances, thereby highlighting the significance of religion in contributing to the rebellion. Whilst religious grievances may not have caused the most severe discontent across all classes - with political grievances (caused by factors such as resentment towards the Act of Uses (1535)) aggrieving the gentry and nobility, and economic causes (such as the 1534 subsidy) aggrieving the commoners - religious grievances caused significant widespread resentment across all classes, thereby creating widespread discontent and a common motivators for the aggrieved to rebel.