Religious policy & opposition to the settlement

Evidence that Catholicism was strong in the first decade of her reign - fines & Catholic support

The government moved cautiously against it & fines recusants for not attending Church of England services. Fines & land confiscations were punishment to anyone persuading a priest to say the Catholic mass. Any priest conducting a Catholic service would be imprisoned. Mary’s bishops refused to take the Oath of Supremacy & were deprived of their positions & Catholicism was strong in certain areas like Lancashire.

Evidence that Catholicism was strong in the first decade of her reign - services & 1563 law

Many clergy in the 1560s led worship containing traces of Catholicism like speaking in Latin instead of English. A new law was passed by Parliament in 1563 which sentenced offer holders who refused the Oath for a second time to death & sentences any priest saying mass to death. This used government method to keep Catholicism down.

Evidence that Catholicism was weak in the first decade of her reign

Fines for not attending services were mostly not collected, either showing sympathy for Catholics or that there weren’t that many fines needed. Few parish priests refused the Oath and Catholicism initially had little support - southern areas were still Protestant. The 1563 laws weren’t fully implemented as no one was asked to swear the Oath again & no priests were executed for saying mass until 1577. No Catholic martyrs were created & Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was published which depicted Catholicism poorly.

Reasons for Elizabeth’s fear of Catholicism in the late 1560s - Mary Queen of Scots, excommunication and the Rodolfi Plot

Mary arrived in England seeking sanctuary in 1568 & was a Catholic contender for the throne, a Catholic successor to Elizabeth & encouraged a French-Scottish alliance against England. The Pope excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570 & any Catholics obeying her could also be excommunicated. He declared all Catholics free of oaths of loyalty to her & encouraged them to oppose her rule, which justified rebellions using Mary & Catholic Europe waging war on England. In 1571 the Ridolfi Plot was uncovered - plan to murder Elizabeth & replace her with Mary.

Reasons for Elizabeth’s fear of Catholicism in the late 1560s - Douai & the Jesuits

In 1568 a seminary for priests was founded in the Douai in the Netherlands by William Allen which trained missionaries to go to England to support Catholics. The Jesuits were trained Catholic mercenaries sent to influence important people & ‘turn’ them back to Catholicism.

Reasons for Elizabeth’s fear of Catholicism in the late 1560s - Catholics in Spain & France

A Spanish Duke sent to the Netherlands to put down a rebellion against Catholic Spanish rule & caused the presence of 10000 Spanish troops to appear across the channel from England to create a fear of Spain trying to force Catholicism back onto England. On St Bartholemew’s Day in France, Catholics slaughtered Protestants which temporarily ended their religious wars & caused Elizabeth to fear France turning its attention to ‘heresy’ in England.

Reasons for Elizabeth’s fear of Catholicism in the late 1560s - rebellion in Durham

In 1569 leading Catholic northern nobles rebelled due to a conspiracy for the Duke of Norfolk to marry Mary Queen of Scots. This would help her be seen as first in the succession & to restore Catholicism & had backing from the Pope & Spain. Elizabeth forbade the marriage when she learned of it & the Earls of Northumberland & Westmorland started a rebellion. They entered Durham Cathedral & replaced the communion table with Catholic symbols & restored the mass. They later fled to Scotland.

Why did Catholic opposition grow after 1580?

The Catholic Church tried to rebuild the faith in England using missionaries & priests trained in Europe & sent to England secretly to restore the faith. Elizabeth was excommunicated & the Pope said people didn’t have to remain loyal to her. In 1567 he instructed English Catholics not to attend Anglican Church services. Mary became the focus hopes of restoring Catholicism in England. More Catholics (rich ones who could afford the fines) begun to disobey the rules & refused to attend church.

The impact of Jesuit & Seminary Priests 1580-1603

By 1580 there were about 800 Catholic priests from Europe in England - they stayed in country houses of the wealthy & hid in spaces called ‘Priest holes’ (designed by Nicholas Owen). The priests were successful in influencing many wealthy people to stay Catholic & Elizabeth responded using JPs to search houses. Government agents (persuivants) received info from Walsingham’s spy network & searched houses for up to a week & ripped them apart. Seminary priests were young Catholics trained abroad- in Douai - (438 sent to England) meant to perform secret Catholic services (mass). Jesuits were trained to persuade people to become Catholics or deepen existing faith & were secret & loyal to the Pope.

Elizabeth’s response to Catholic opposition & recusants

The Act of Persuasions 1581 raised recusancy fines by 10000% - £20 a month. The Act against Priests 1585 inflicted the death penalty on anyone who offered help of shelter to Catholic priests. It also gave priests 40 days to leave England until they were guilty of treason - 150 Catholic priests executed. The 1587 Recusancy Act meant 2 thirds of the land owned by a recusant was taken & pushed wealthy Catholics into debt. The Act Restraining Recusants 1593 forced Catholics to stay within 5 miles of their home & banned large gatherings - restricting freedom of movement. The first female Catholic martyr ( Margaret Clitherow) was tortured & executed in 1586 for sheltering priests.

Why did the Catholic threat fade after 1588?

Catholic priests focused their efforts around the south east when support was strongest in the north west & they focused on the wealthy & gentry over the poor. Not enough priests were sent to England & Walsingham’s spy network was effective in identifying them. Seminary & Jesuit priests argued over tactics & the Pooe couldn’t control them.

1580 execution of Edward Campion

He was the first Jesuit priest to arrive in 1580 & was found in a priest hole. He claimed to be loyal to Elizabeth but was tortured & hung drawn & quartered as a traitor. His execution increased the number of priests who came to England & caused Catholics to publish propaganda exposing this cruel treatment towards Catholics from Elizabeth’s government. The Bloody Question was introduced 1585. The execution of priests greatly increased in 1588 when Spanish invasion threatened England.

Elizabeth’s success in dealing with Catholicism

By 1603, Catholics had been wiped out as a serious force in England due to the government campaign of persecution & it is estimated that while 10% of the population were Catholic sympathisers by 1603, only 2% were actual recusants.

Why Catholicism failed - fault of the Catholics

The Catholics were partly to blame as many disliked them for their multiple attempts to harm & kill the queen through plots & rebellions. The Pope is also to blame as he encouraged these plots along with Spain & he forbade English Catholics from attending church services but few were rich enough to afford recusancy fines. There was also a split between the seminary priests who refused to support Spain & the Jesuits who were firmly behind Spanish plans to invade England.

Why Catholicism failed - the fault of the Protestants

Catholicism became associated with treason which allowed Protestant propagandists to discredit the faith amongst the general public. They persuaded many that Catholicism was dangerous, unpatriotic & ‘foreign’.

Why did Protestants also pose a problem to Elizabeth?

Puritans were dissatisfied with the religious settlement as for them the Roman Catholic church was corrupt & its traditions were based on superstition not the Bible. They found the Catholic elements of the ‘middle way’ (via media) offensive. They were angry about the retention of bishops/lack of changes to the church’s structure & the vestments worn by clergy. They posed a problem to Elizabeth from the 1570s onwards.

Different strands of Puritanism that developed

Moderate Puritans - reluctantly accepted the church’s structure but wanted reform of its beliefs & practices

Presbyterians - wanted a thorough reform to the structure of the church & ritual to be simplified

Separatists - sought to fully break away from the Church of England and form independent congregations with their own radical Protestant values.

How did Puritanism impact the Elizabethan parliament

Traditionalists like Neale suggest Protestant dissatisfaction led to the formation of the ‘Puritan choir’ in Parliament which consisted of 100 MPs who were exceptionally powerful & constantly challenged Elizabeth’s authority.

The Vestiarian Controversy

Vestments were the special clothes worn by the clergy during services. Archbishop’s Parker’s 1566 Book of Advertisements set out what was expected of the clergy in line with the 1559 injunctions & declared they must wear the surplice & cope. Puritans & protestant preachers viewed this as highly controversial as it was too close to tradition Catholic clothing & 37 clergymen in London refused to follow these instructions & were suspended.

How the Vestiarian Controversy was dealt with

The refusal of many clergy to adhere to the requirement of specific vestments raised the question of how far Elizabeth’s authority as Supreme Governor extended. Parker later watered down the requirements in an attempt to satisfy the Puritans but the situation reached no true conclusion & Elizabeth explicitly supported neither side.

Thomas Cartwright’s demands

In his 1570 lectures he advocated for the abolition of bishops & a form of church government based on the one developed by Calvin which involved the minister of each church exercising control & erased church hierarchy. This was known as the Presbytarian church. Elizabeth was horrified at his ideas & believed barely any space would be left for a supreme governor. She also feared them as the 1560s introduction of Presbytarianism in Scotland had caused MQOS to be overthrown.

Thomas Strickland & John Field’s attempts to implement Presbytarianism

Strickland was an MP who tried to suggest changes to the structure of the church in 1571 & caused Parliament to formally approve the 39 Articles as a response which meant the clergy had to accept their conditions to gain a position. Field published Admonitions to the Parliament in 1572 which argued a Presbytarian church structure was the only one sanctioned by the Bible & he denounced the Book of Common Prayer.

Prophesyings as a Puritan practice

These were gatherings of clergymen where young & unlicensed preachers would practise their art & receive advice from their more experienced colleagues as well as use preaching to educate the clergy & laity on Puritanism. Elizabeth disliked this due to its unorthodox encouragement of Puritanism & the challenge it posed to her authority & the rules of the church as she believed only she should dictate religious doctrine & practice.

Edmund Grindal & prophesyings

He was the new Archbishop of Canterbury & was ordered by Elizabeth to suppress prophesyings. However he concluded they weren’t dangerous & refused to accept her instructions. He lectured her about their importance in spreading the word of God & she placed him under house arrest & prevented him from being able to do his job. She also had prophesyings banned.

The Three Articles 1583

Elizabeth appointed John Whitgift as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in 1583 as he shared many of her views & prejudices & had no Puritan sympathies. He introduced the 3 Articles which forced all clergy to accept royal supremacy, the 39 Articles & the Book of Common Prayer - included accepting bishops. 300 ministers were suspended in the south alone for refusing to accept this & further strict controls to suppress presbytarian practices were established.

Anthony Cope’s demands

He was an MP who led demands for a Calvinist prayer book to replace the Book of Common Prayer & was sent to the tower.

The separatist movement & groups involved

The movement grew from the 1560s-90s & broke away completely from the Anglican Church. The Brownists were a separatist group who viewed the Church of England as disrupted by its Catholic traces & lack of moral discipline & Browne established his own church - they were hanged. The 1588-89 Marprelate Tracts represented the reappearance of the movement & were an anonymous bitter attack on the church & bishops using abusive language. The 1593 Act Against Seditious Sectaries allowed the authorities to execute suspected separatists.

Successes of Elizabeth’s religious policy

Catholicism shrunk & became discredited as treasonous. It was a clever compromise & pleased the majority. It limited early foreign threats & provided much needed early stability in England. People were prosecuted for recusancy etc suggesting strong government. Limited opposition from Parliament to religious legislation. Propaganda attacked Mary & justified the settlement. No civil wars over religion occurred. Puritanism was suppressed with strong policy under Whitgift & Elizabeth looked strong & independent. Its impact was long lasting.

Failures of Elizabeth’s religious policy

Regional variations & a north/south divide remained an issue. Puritans were a long term problem & caused civil war in the 1600s. Moral laxity remained an issue with church abuses continuing. Catholicism continued to demonstrate strength & determination & her harsh/ruthlessly repressive policies created a climate of fear. She lost control of her Archbishop of Canterbury (Grindal). She allegedly lost control over Parliament - the ‘Puritan Choir’. It was too much of a compromise & didn’t heal divisions & created lots of conflict.