elizabeth religious policy

simplicity of the puritans

* services were simple and they rejected ceremonies
* wore simple clothing and studied the bible very closely

what were presbyterians and how were they opposed?

* questioned the need for bishops and criticised the structure of the church during prophesyings
* 1580: john field, one of the most influentila puritans, was banned from preaching
* elizabeth suspended edmund grindal, the archbishop of canterbury, for encouraging prophesyings

john whitgift, archbishop of canterbury

* introduced ban on unlicensed preaching and imprisonment for those who refused to follow the rules through a new high commission
* printers were punished for circulating puritan pamphlets
* high profile puritans like anthony cope were imprisoned in the tower

what did puritans think about the 39 articles?

believed they were too popish, and argued elizabeth’s reforms were not enough

what did separatists believe?

* did not want a national church
* wanted parishes to establish their own churches based on the bible’s teachings
* the activities of the separatists were illegal
* robert browne, leader of the brownists, fled to the netherlands

what were the martin marperlate tracts?

* angry attacks on bishops and the church of england in foul language
* caused outrage among the public and the authorities
* puritans tried to distance themselves from the tracts but were still associated with them

how did elizabeth tolerate catholics in the early years of her reign?

* parliament introduced laws against catholics in 1563, but elizabeth ensured they were not fully implemented
* punishment for saying mass was now death
* private masses, especially in gentry and noble households, were ignored as long as those people also attended the church of england

what was the catholic threat to elizabeth in the 1560s?

* spain was persecuting dutch protestants
* mary, queen of scots, arrived in england in 1568
* focus of several plots to overthrow elizabeth
* william allen founded the douai seminary in 1568
* the pope excommunicated elizabeth in 1570, allowing catholics to disobey her

what was the catholic threat to elizabeth in the 1570s?

* 1571: new treason act made denying elizabeth’s supremacy and bringing copies of the excommunication into england high treason
* elizabeth blocked attempts to increase the punishment for recusancy
* worsening anglo-spanish relations and growing fears around mary, queen of scots heightened fears of catholics in england
* jesuit priests began arriving in england in 1580 - seen as more fanatical and threatening

what was the catholic threat to elizabeth in the 1580s?

* the throckmorton and babington plots increased surveillance and arrests of catholics
* first jesuits executed in 1581
* a new law increased the fine for recusancy to £20, impossible for normal people to afford
* 1585: parliament passed an act giving catholic priests 40 days to leave england or be executed
* nearly 150 catholics were executed under elizabeth i, but most were imprisoned in a specifically built gaol

what was the catholic threat to elizabeth in the 1590s?

* mass was still held in secret, mainly for the gentry
* douai priests were hesitant to support philip ii, believing his motives were not simply religious
* catholicism was dying out among ordinary people
* war with spain helped this process
* the instinct of the people was to support elizabeth i and england

how was anglicanism enforced?

* high commission enabled prosecution of disobedient clergy and there were regular visitations
* treason laws made catholicism and separatism punishable
* attendance at church of england services was now compulsory
* a licence was needed to preach - book of homilies used by unlicenced clergy
* whitgift was an enthusiastic enforcer of church of england discipline

what was hooker’s ecclesiastical policy?

* anglicanism had stripped away papal, medieval superstition and left a bible-based, true christian faith
* all other issues were adiophora - trappings irrelevant to faith
* existing ceremonies and adiophora should be accepted for christian unity
* hierarchical structure was a useful way of organising a national church