Elizabethan England- the religious settlement

1559

when was the religious settlement first introduced/when were the changes to religion made by Elizabeth?

it was introduced to become a compromise. Elizabeth was trying to please as many people at once whilst still holding on to her personal, protestant beliefs. The biggest aim of the settlement was to unite the country and stop religious arguments and leading to rebellion.

why was the religious settlement introduced?

they wanted the pope as leader (head of the church),bishops to help the running of the church, decorative churches, richly decorated robes, clergy could not marry, bible in Latin and bread and wine transformed into the body/blood of Christ.

What did the Catholics want during Elizabeth's reign?

they wanted king or queen to be head of the church, archbishops AND bishops to help run the church, they did not want any images in the church, priests could marry, bible in English and bread/wine was symbolic of body/blood of Jesus.

What did the protestants want during Elizabeth's reign?

they wanted no head of church, committees elected by churchgoers to run the church, plain churches, clergy to wear black gowns, clergy could marry, bible in English and bread/wine remained the same during communion.

What did the puritans want during Elizabeth's reign?

Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity

what were the 2 acts that Elizabeth's introduced?

1559

when were the 2 acts introduced?

required all clergymen and government officers to take an Oath of Supremacy. By this they were to swear that they would accept Elizabeth as Supreme Governor of the Church. Those who refused to swear the oath could be imprisoned or even executed if they refused three times.

describe the act of supremacy

This laid down the rules about religious services which were to be carried out in churches throughout Wales and England. It said that the newly formed Prayer Book, should be used in all churches and that people would be fined if they did not attend. Catholics were upset that Latin mass was gone but some would go to secret catholic services. Elizabeth allowed this as long as they continued to attend the new church.

describe the act of uniformity

she allowed ornaments and decoration in churches and this kept many people happy but puritans complained that the church looked too catholic. singing hymns continued.

what changes did Elizabeth make to the decoration/singing in the churches?

all clergy had to take an oath recognizing Elizabeth's title and agreeing to use the new prayer book. they had to wear a surplice (white robe) rather than black gowns (what puritans wanted). priests were allowed to marry, all preachers had to have a license and preach at least once a month.

what changes did Elizabeth make to the clergy (churchmen)?

250 out of 9000

how many churchmen refused to take the oah?

pleased it was a protestant church, pope was no longer in charge of the church and services/prayer book/bible were in English.

what did the puritans like about the new church?

bishops were running the church, there was a head of the church, clergy had to wear a surplice, there were decorations in the church and too much of a compromise with the Catholics.

what did the puritans not like about the new church?

chose to work within the church-try an move it in a puritan direction, many accepted posts as bishops in the new church, some were MPs (house of commons) and others were members of Elizabeth's privy council, between 1559 and 1563 puritan bishops tried to persuade Elizabeth to make changes and pushed for the removal of things they felt were to catholic.

what did the puritans do in response to the settlement?

they were weakened by the fact that they were a small group and they were very divided and the moderate puritans only wanted small changes. However, they all agreed that it was better to have Elizabeth on the throne that MQS who was catholic. As a result, the did not lead rebellions/ violent protests nor did they help a foreign power invade England.

how much of a threat were the puritans?