How significant was the role of the Church before the Reformation?

There are two main interpretations of the state of the Catholic Church in England before the reformation:

1) People were content with the state of the English Church before the Reformation, although their faith is often accused of being shallow and uninterested. However, there is little doubt that people were enthusiastic about and happy to follow traditional practices that had been used in English religion for centuries.

2) The Church was in danger already: even before Henry VIII split with Rome, changes had been made in English religion. It has been argued that although the Church looked good on the surface, there were already serious problems.