The church formed a distinct entity within English society, marked off by its liberties and functions. It was at once a community of believers ministered to by the clergy and an institution with its own laws and property staffed by the clergy. After 1300, people increasingly referred to it as the ‘church of England’, not to claim independence from Rome but rather to express adherence to their own traditions. National identity, however, did not give it autonomy. The clergy had to function in accord with English law and social norms and faced continual demands for money and service from the papacy, crown, and nobility.

The English church in Edward's reign faced a fundamental dilemma. On the one hand, the forces of reform and education drove the church forward, with impressive results. Schools and universities flourished and, indeed, developed a distinctive intellectual tradition which influenced scholars throughout Europe. A cadre of well-trained clerical administrators emerged from these schools and dominated ecclesiastical and royal administration. Significant strides were taken toward improving the quality of the parochial clergy, on whom depended the church's mission. A new spirituality emerged within the church and among the laity, fostering a unique tradition of English devotion and mysticism. On the other hand, the clergy was necessarily entangled in worldly affairs, which distracted them from their calling and gave rise to criticism from within and without the church. Most clergy depended on clientage and patronage for advancement so that their loyalty was pulled in several directions at once.