E.E.E - The Religious Settlement

What was the English Reformation?

• Catholicism had dominated Europe for centuries, controlling what festivals and activities Christians could do

• Reformation began when in Germany Martin Luther pinned his 95 theses outlining how corrupt the Catholic Church was and he introduced protestantism.

What is the difference between English Catholics and Protestants?

• Pope

  Catholics - Pope is the head of the church

  Protestants - No one is head of the Church

• Sacraments

  Catholics - All 7

  Protestants - Only 2 (Baptism and Eucharist)

• Churches

  Catholics - Churches should be intricately designed and should have gold and silver decorations, Priests should wear vestments, Services should be in Latin.

  Protestants - Churches should be plain and have no decorations, Priests should wear a plain robe, Common prayer book allows people to understand services

What was the religious divisions in 1558?

• During her coronation, most of her subjects were Catholic

• Conflict was spreading all over Europe as both Catholicism and Protestantism were arguing whether which is the best and true religion

• Most of England’s bishops were Catholic and changing the country’s religion would be difficult as they would oppose the act

• North and North West were strongly Catholic

• South and South East were strongly Protestant

• Puritan is an extreme form of Protestantism

What was the religious settlement 1559?

• Elizabeth wanted to find a compromise between Catholics and Protestants

• She wanted to find a type of Protestantism which the Catholics would accept

• She also didn’t want to turn her Catholics subjects against her

What was the Act of Supremacy?

• made Elizabeth the supreme Governor of the Church

• all clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her

What was the Act of Uniformity?

• established what the appearance of churches would be

• what the form of services would be

What was the Royal Injunctions?

• set of instructions issued by Sir William Cecil

• issued to clergy to reinforce the Act of Supremacy and Uniformity

• How people should worship God and services.

• All clergy were to teach the Royal Supremacy (that the monarch is the head of the church)

• Anyone who refused to attend church was to be reported to the Privy Council

• Each parish would receive a copy of the Bible in English

• No-one was allowed to preach without a license granted by the government

• Pilgrimages (a journey to an important religious site, monument or shrine) and monuments to fake miracles were banned

• All clergy were to wear special vestments

How was the Religious Settlement enforced?

• An ecclesiastical commission was established to maintain discipline and enforce the settlement

• Act of Uniformity introduced a set prayer in the Common Prayer book which had to be followed - made deliberately unclear to allow people to have their own interpretations of it.

• People who failed to attend church were fined 1 shilling - according to the Labourers Act 1563; Labourers earned 3 pence a day, skilled craftsman earned 4 pence, servants earned 8-9 pence. There was 12 pence in a shilling, very hard for the poor to pay, but easy for the rich

What was the impact of the religious settlement?

• Only 1 out of 27 Catholic bishops accepted the settlement - shortage of Protestant clergy

• Out of 10000 priests, 8000 accepted

• Parts of the North were slow to change, but majority the change was smooth

• Elizabeth didn’t want to punish recusants harshly as it would increase empathy for them