INTRODUCTION – OUTLINE MAIN ARGUMENT
CONTEXT OF THE DECISION
This was an age when the Monarch’s choice of religion decided the religion of the entire country. Religion and
politics were inextricably intertwined and this in itself created problems, appositely illustrated by Henry
VIII’s decision to break from Rome.
Henry’s Reformation of the Church for the sake of a male heir and the love of a woman caused a religious
rollercoaster, from the Protestantism of Edward VI to the persecutions of Mary’s reign. In this context it was
therefore vital for Elizabeth to make a decision about the religion of England quickly.
MAIN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHY THE DECISION WAS MADE AND MOST IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCES
CAUSES
Elizabeth herself had been raised as a Protestant, however, arguably more important was the fact that
Catholics would not recognise her mother’s marriage to the King, so if the country had been Catholic, Elizabeth
would have been viewed as illegitimate and her claim to the throne could therefore have been at stake.
There was a serious contemporary concern that if the country had been Catholic then the Queen might have
been dominated by other European Catholic powers, notably Spain and France, as well as the Pope.
It was a compelling belief that a stable Church, after the turmoil caused by four changes in religion over the
previous twenty years, would unite the English people. It is arguable that the start of Elizabeth’s reign
provided the perfect opportunity for this to happen.
Elizabeth favoured a “via media”, so although religion and politics were closely intertwined and the Acts of
Supremacy and Uniformity ensured religious and political loyalty, they were essentially a compromise between
Protestant based liturgy and Catholic aesthetics.
The contemporary fear of Catholicism which had been caused by the persecutions of Protestants under Bloody
Mary’s reign was also a significant cause of Elizabeth’s decision to form a relatively tolerant Protestant Church
of England.
On top of her personal leanings towards Protestantism, Elizabeth also had a political need to reward the
returning “Marian Exiles” and loyal Protestants in England with a Church with which they could be content.
It was also a motivating factor to create a Protestant Church of England that Elizabeth’s father had seized
the riches and lands of the monasteries during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. One of the causes of the
decision to establish a Protestant Church was the fact that a return to Catholicism would mean that this
wealth would have to be returned, which Elizabeth’s finances simply could not allow.
CONSEQUENCES
As a consequence of the 1559 Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, the Church of England was established as
Protestant, with Elizabeth as the Supreme Governor. In another example of Elizabeth’s via media, this title
was a concession to Catholics who could not allow a woman to be head of the Church.
Generally common people were not greatly affected by the Settlement. Many were illiterate so it is
conceivable that they might have preferred services in English, though they may also have missed the beauty
of the old Catholic Church. Nonetheless, by 1580 most people had inwardly conformed to Protestantism.
Although life was undeniably difficult for Elizabethan Catholics, it is arguable that their circumstances could
have been significantly worse. For example, Recusancy fines were levied for non-attendance at Church, not for
simply being Catholic, and were also applied to dissenting Puritans. This lack of desire to execute people simply
on the basis of their faith is an illustration of Elizabeth’s departure from her sister’s reign.
Early in Elizabeth’s reign, her via media meant that Catholics were not persecuted, other than in the form of
Recusancy fines. This was because Elizabeth had no desire to make windows into men’s souls. Rather than the
bloodletting of her sister’s reign, Elizabeth’s religious policy meant many Catholics simply drifted into
Protestantism over time. The lack of persecution was extremely significant because it meant that there were
no martyrs to the cause and none of the associated issues, such as opposition to the Crown.
By 1563 the 39 Articles had established the structure of the Church, however, Elizabeth refused to make any
further changes after this point. This was a problem because Parliament wanted to be involved in religious
discussions, however, Elizabeth viewed this as detrimental to her Royal Prerogative.
As a result of the establishment of the Protestant Church, Anglo-Spanish relations worsened and the 1570
Papal Bull only further aggravated the situation by causing Catholic plots against the Queen. The Papal Bull was
a significant problem because it excommunicated Elizabeth and released her subjects from allegiance to her,
which tested the Queen’s dislike for extremism and religious repression beyond breaking point. The most
significant of the plots focused on putting Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne, for example, the
Throckmorton Plot and the Babington Plot, as a result of which Mary lost her head.
While Catholics were unhappy with England turning her back on the Pope, as evidenced by Foxe’s Book of
Martyrs, Puritans were dissatisfied with the amount of adiaphora such as organ playing, and felt the Church
had not moved far enough away from Rome. As a result of these feelings, Puritans organised prophesying in
order to properly educate the clergy and Elizabeth was forced in 1583 to replace Archbishop Grindall with
Whitgift as a result of the former’s refusal to stop these Puritans.
Of course, after Elizabeth’s death many Puritans hoped to enjoy more success with her successor James,
though they were to be disappointed after the 1603 Millenary Petition and Hampton Court Conference,
because while James did make some concessions such as allowing the people to read the word of God in the
Authorised Version, he did not make any significant concessions.
HISTORIOGRAPHY
Smith argued that the 1559 Settlement remained the foundation of the Church of England at the end of
Elizabeth’s reign, as it had been at the beginning.
There has been a general consensus amongst historians that there were more, and better educated, clergy at
the end of Elizabeth’s reign than there had been at the beginning.
Neale argued that Elizabeth’s hand was forced into a more Protestant settlement than she had wanted by a
“Puritan choir” in Parliament. However, revisionist historians have discredited this interpretation, instead
arguing that Elizabeth did indeed secure the settlement she had intended.
CONCLUSION – OUTLINE MAIN ARGUMENT
Elizabeth favoured a “via media”, so although religion
and politics were closely intertwined and the Acts of
Supremacy and Uniformity ensured religious and
political loyalty, they were essentially a compromise
between Protestant based liturgy and Catholic
aesthetics.
There has been a general consensus amongst
historians that there were more, and better
educated, clergy at the end of Elizabeth’s reign than
there had been at the beginning.
Henry’s Reformation of the Church for the sake of a
male heir and the love of a woman caused a religious
rollercoaster, from the Protestantism of Edward VI
to the persecutions of Mary’s reign. In this context
it was therefore vital for Elizabeth to make a
decision about the religion of England quickly.
On top of her personal leanings towards
Protestantism, Elizabeth also had a political need to
reward the returning “Marian Exiles” and loyal
Protestants in England with a Church with which they
could be content.
Although life was undeniably difficult for
Elizabethan Catholics, it is arguable that their
circumstances could have been significantly worse.
For example, Recusancy fines were levied for nonattendance at Church, not for simply being Catholic,
and were also applied to dissenting Puritans. This
lack of desire to execute people simply on the basis
of their faith is an illustration of Elizabeth’s
departure from her sister’s reign.
While Catholics were unhappy with England turning
her back on the Pope, as evidenced by Foxe’s Book of
Martyrs, Puritans were dissatisfied with the amount
of adiaphora such as organ playing, and felt the
Church had not moved far enough away from Rome.
As a result of these feelings, Puritans organised
prophesying in order to properly educate the clergy
and Elizabeth was forced in 1583 to replace
Archbishop Grindall with Whitgift as a result of the
former’s refusal to stop these Puritans.
Of course, after Elizabeth’s death many Puritans
hoped to enjoy more success with her successor
James, though they were to be disappointed after
the 1603 Millenary Petition and Hampton Court
Conference, because while James did make some
concessions such as allowing the people to read the
word of God in the Authorised Version, he did not
make any significant concessions.
There was a serious contemporary concern that if
the country had been Catholic then the Queen might
have been dominated by other European Catholic
powers, notably Spain and France, as well as the
Pope.
It was also a motivating factor to create a
Protestant Church of England that Elizabeth’s father
had seized the riches and lands of the monasteries
during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. One of
the causes of the decision to establish a Protestant
Church was the fact that a return to Catholicism
would mean that this wealth would have to be
returned, which Elizabeth’s finances simply could not
allow.
As a result of the establishment of the Protestant
Church, Anglo-Spanish relations worsened and the
1570 Papal Bull only further aggravated the situation
by causing Catholic plots against the Queen. The
Papal Bull was a significant problem because it
excommunicated Elizabeth and released her subjects
from allegiance to her, which tested the Queen’s
dislike for extremism and religious repression
beyond breaking point. The most significant of the
plots focused on putting Mary Queen of Scots on the
English throne, for example, the Throckmorton Plot
and the Babington Plot, as a result of which Mary
lost her head.
It was a compelling belief that a stable Church,
after the turmoil caused by four changes in religion
over the previous twenty years, would unite the
English people. It is arguable that the start of
Elizabeth’s reign provided the perfect opportunity
for this to happen.
Neale argued that Elizabeth’s hand was forced into a
more Protestant settlement than she had wanted by
a “Puritan choir” in Parliament. However, revisionist
historians have discredited this interpretation,
instead arguing that Elizabeth did indeed secure the
settlement she had intended.
Smith argued that the 1559 Settlement remained
the foundation of the Church of England at the end
of Elizabeth’s reign, as it had been at the beginning.
This was an age when the Monarch’s choice of
religion decided the religion of the entire country.
Religion and politics were inextricably intertwined
and this in itself created problems, appositely
illustrated by Henry VIII’s decision to break from
Rome.
By 1563 the 39 Articles had established the
structure of the Church, however, Elizabeth refused
to make any further changes after this point. This
was a problem because Parliament wanted to be
involved in religious discussions, however, Elizabeth
viewed this as detrimental to her Royal Prerogative.
The contemporary fear of Catholicism which had
been caused by the persecutions of Protestants
under Bloody Mary’s reign was also a significant
cause of Elizabeth’s decision to form a relatively
tolerant Protestant Church of England.
Elizabeth herself had been raised as a Protestant,
however, arguably more important was the fact that
Catholics would not recognise her mother’s marriage
to the King, so if the country had been Catholic,
Elizabeth would have been viewed as illegitimate and
her claim to the throne could therefore have been at
stake.
Early in Elizabeth’s reign, her via media meant that
Catholics were not persecuted, other than in the
form of Recusancy fines. This was because Elizabeth
had no desire to make windows into men’s souls.
Rather than the bloodletting of her sister’s reign,
Elizabeth’s religious policy meant many Catholics
simply drifted into Protestantism over time. The lack
of persecution was extremely significant because it
meant that there were no martyrs to the cause and
none of the associated issues, such as opposition to
the Crown.
Generally common people were not greatly affected
by the Settlement. Many were illiterate so it is
conceivable that they might have preferred services
in English, though they may also have missed the
beauty of the old Catholic Church. Nonetheless, by
1580 most people had inwardly conformed to
Protestantism.
As a consequence of the 1559 Acts of Supremacy
and Uniformity, the Church of England was
established as Protestant, with Elizabeth as the
Supreme Governor. In another example of
Elizabeth’s via media, this title was a concession to
Catholics who could not allow a woman to be head of
the Church.
Act Of Uniformity – This law made it an obligation to go to Church every week or face Recusancy fines.
Act Of Supremacy – This law meant everyone had to swear allegiance to the Crown or face charges of treason.
Adiaphora – Things not essential to faith but which are found in Church anyway e.g. organ playing.
Authorised Version – The Bible which was translated by James I & VI into English.
Bloody Mary – Mary I, Elizabeth’s older sister.
Dissent – To disagree with doctrine or authority.
Dissolution Of The Monasteries – Henry closed the monasteries after the Reformation and seized their wealth and
lands.
Foxe’s Book Of Martyrs – A Protestant account of the persecutions of Protestants by e.g. Bloody Mary.
Hampton Court Conference – A discussion in 1604 between James I & VI and English Puritans. It was peaceful and
non-threatening to the Royal Prerogative so James listened but did not give the Puritans everything they wanted i.e.
a more Puritan Church.
Historiography – What historians have argued about an event, person or issue etc in history.
Marian Exiles – English Protestants who fled England during the reign of Bloody Mary in order to avoid having to
convert to Catholicism.
Millenary Petition – A list of requests given to James I & VI in 1603 by English Puritans who felt that the C of E
was still too Catholic. They did not threaten the Royal Prerogative and were reasonable, so James listened and it
culminated in the Hampton Court Conference.
Papal Bull – A formal communication issued by the Pope.
Prophesyings – Meetings of the clergy which criticised the state of the C of E.
Recusancy Fines – Fines levied for non-attendance of Church. The amount was large for poor people, but initially
acceptable for the rich.
Religious Settlement – Elizabeth’s legislative response to the divisions in the Church created by her father, brother
and sister. It was made up of the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity and was a compromise between Catholicism and
Protestantism.
Royal Prerogative – The powers of the Crown e.g. the power to open and dissolve Parliament.
Supreme Governor Of The Church – The title Elizabeth took rather than Head of the Church, in recognition of the
fact that a woman could not be head.
Thirty Nine Articles – These lay out the faith of the C of E as a via media, incorporating both Catholic and
Protestant ideas.
Via Media – From the Latin “middle road”. This describes the compromise which was an integral part of Elizabeth’s
Religious Settlement.