Elizabethan revision resource (AQA GCSE)

Religious matters

The Elizabethan religious settlement

Elizabeth was a Protestant

Educated a Protestant, she demonstrated her Protestantism on becoming queen, forbidding the performing of Mass in royal chapels, thus rejecting the idea of Transubstantiation.

She liked certain elements of Catholicism, particularly church decoration and church music.

She is quoted to say "Away with the torches", referencing candles used in Church which was a more Catholic practice. 

Aims

Elizabeth's main concern was the peace and stability of the realm, and religious persecution was only adopted when certain religious groups threatened this peace.

Elizabeth wanted a Church that would appeal to both Catholics and Protestants.

Another aim was to maximise her personal power and wealth by taking as much control over the Church as she could.

Act of Supremacy, 1559

The Act of Supremacy made Elizabeth Supreme Governor of the Church and church officials were required to take an oath of obedience to Elizabeth.

Neither zealous Catholics nor Protestants were willing to accept a woman as Head of the Church – hence Elizabeth's compromise of taking the title 'Supreme Governor' as opposed to 'Head'.

In a further concession to the Catholics, the Church kept its pre-Reformation structure

A 'Middle Way'

1559: The Act of Uniformity, aimed to end quarrels between Protestants and Catholics. It was followed by Royal Injunctions two months later, which outlined 57 rules to be followed and then the Thirty Nine Articles in 1563.

The Church created was Protestant but allowed some Catholic features.

Protestant

Catholic

A new Book of Common Prayer was issued, the Bible was written in English

Services were held in English

The clergy was allowed to marry

Old Catholic practices such as pilgrimages and saints' images were banned.

Catholic episcopal structure remained

Ornaments such as crosses and candles could be placed on the communion table.

Priests could wear elaborate Catholic-style vestments

How did some Catholics oppose the 'Middle Way'?

There were still plenty of Catholics in England; those who held public office and were unwilling to accept Elizabeth as Head of the Church, had their positions taken away.

The Pope ordered English Catholics not to attend Anglican services. Those who did not attend (recusants) were fined, but anyone found guilty of performing Mass could face the death penalty.

1568- William Allen founded a school for training seminary priests in Douai (France) with a view to send English Catholic back as missionaries

1569- Catholic nobles in the north, including the Dukes of Northumberland and Norfolk, led a rebellion aimed at deposing Elizabeth

1570: Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth.

Anti- Catholic feeling in England was exacerbated by the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (24 August 1572), in which French Catholics killed thousands of Protestants.

During the 1580s a new Catholic threat emerged, the Jesuits. They were dedicated to serving the Pope and were sent to England to influence rich and powerful families against the Queen. Edmund Campion was one of the first and most famous English Jesuit priests.

How did Elizabeth respond and deal with Catholic opposition?

The Treason Act, 1571: Stated that anyone denying Elizabeth's supremacy or bringing the Pope's Bull (decree issued by Pope) of ex-communication into England could be punished by death. In addition, anyone who left the country for more than six months had their lands confiscated.

The act was introduced both in response to Catholic plots and assassination attempts and to prevent English Catholics from going abroad to train as missionaries.

1585: Act Against Jesuits and Seminary Priests - Increasingly worried by Catholic activity, particularly the Throckmorton Plot, in 1585 the authorities passed a harsh law called the It became treason to become a Catholic priest in England and made it a crime for anyone to shelter one. All priests were ordered to leave England within 40 days on pain of death.

Pursuivants raided and ripped apart suspected 'safe houses'

1593: Large gatherings Catholics were made illegal and Catholics' freedom of movement was restricted to no further from five miles from their homes

Did Elizabeth succeed in reducing the Catholic threat?

YES: By 1603 the government campaign had largely been successful - it is estimated that by the end of Elizabeth's reign 10% of the population were Catholic sympathisers and only 2% were actual recusants

How and why did Puritans oppose the 'Middle Way'?

While the Elizabethan Settlement proved generally acceptable, some Puritans were dissatisfied with the state of the Church of England. The cry for "further reform" in the 1560s was the basis of what is now known as the Puritan Movement. They found the Catholic parts of the religious compromise as offensive, viewing the old Catholic church as corrupt. They wanted a more radical Protestant church.

Influenced by Calvinist ideas, they became a particular problem for Elizabeth from the 1570s onwards. During the 1560s and 1570s, the works of were the most widely read publications in England

Puritans published pamphlets and materials critical of the Church of England.

Puritans also used parliament to raise their concerns about the church

How did Elizabeth deal with Puritan opposition?

1572- Two Puritan printing presses were destroyed after material critical of the church was published

1576- Elizabeth stated that MPs were no longer allowed to discuss religious matters without her permission

1583, John Whitgift was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. He was a long-time enemy of puritans

In September 1583 he issued the Three Articles. They ordered that all ministers had to swear acceptance of Bishops, the Prayer Book, and the Thirty-Nine Articles.

300 ministers were suspended as a result, showing the mixture of opinions within the Elizabethan Church.

Whitgift's harsh approach pushed a few Puritans into breaking away from the Anglican's altogether to become Separatists or Brownists.

1593, the government passed the Act against Seditious Sectaries, which allowed the authorities to arrest anyone suspected of being a Separatist.

Did Elizabeth succeed in reducing Puritan opposition?

YES: By 1603 most of the population were following the Church of England, including most Puritans. Government propaganda had been used to turn public opinion against radical Puritans.