Meeting the challenge of religion: The Elizabethan Religious Settlement

Meeting the challenge of religion: The Elizabethan Religious Settlement

The religious beliefs of Elizabeth I

• She left no clear statement of her own religious views.
• Upbringing predisposed towards Protestantism – legitimacy of mothers marriage coincided with break from Rome, likely to associate her own right to the throne with opposition to the Papacy. Education was also distinctly protestant.
• Anne Boleyn had entrusted Matthew Parker with the spiritual welfare of Elizabeth – Elizabeth made him her first Archbisop of Canterbury.
• Catherine Parr was the one that brought Elizabeth back to court, and was herself protestant.
• The Dean of St Paul’s in 1561 left a prayer book in Elizabeth’s place, it contained engraved pictures of saints and martyrs – she told him she had an “aversion to idolatry, to images and pictures of this kind.”

Supremacy and Uniformity: The First Moves

• Options:

-Maintain Catholicism - would preserve alliance with Spain but Elizabeth was Protestant.

-Maintain Catholicism without Pope – Follow her father’s footsteps.

-Switch to Calvin’s Protestantism – Rebellions

-Moderate Protestantism – No one is put out too badly.

     

• Had to be passed by act of parliament so had to bear in mind the attitudes of the Marian Bishops.
• Kept 2 principles in mind:

-The need to establish a national church to secure the religious conformity and attendance of as many of Elizabeth’s subjects as possible.

-The need to perform a balancing act between Protestants and Catholics.

• Forbade elevation of the host at mass in Royal chapel on Christmas day. Priest refused & Queen walked out.
• Jan 1559 – snubbed monks at Abbey of Westminster crying “Away with these torches” “we can see very well”.
• Elizabeth told the Spanish ambassador that she aimed to restore the form of religion as practised in the final years of Henry’s reign – which many Catholics had found acceptable.

Supremacy and Uniformity: The Parliament of 1559

• When parliament assesmbled in 1559, the international situation remained uncertain.
• Spanish interests bound up in her retaining the throne otherwise Mary Stuart unite England, Scotland and France against Spain.
• Negotiations took place at Cateau-Cambresis between France, Spain and England in Feb 1559 to end the war.

The acts of Supremacy and Uniformity

• First 3 government bills were sufficiently radical to arouse opposition. One aimed to sever connections with Rome – the bill of supremacy.
• Likely that the other two bills included re-adoption of the second Prayer book used by Edward. Passed in house of commons but rejected by Lords. 2^nd attempt saw the Lords alter the bills beyond recognition.
• French threat removed in April 1559 when The Peace of Cateau-Cambresis was signed.
• Elizabeth learned that Marian Bishops were to oppose any measure tampering with Catholicism. She therefore instigated aggressive propositions attacked authority of pope, spiritual value of mass and use of Latin in public worship.
• Catholic representatives withdrew in anger and Elizabeth took the opportunity to arrest 2 of them on a charge of disobedience.
• The reduced number of Catholics in the Lords giving the government a greater chance of pushing through Protestant measures.
• Substituted “Supreme head of the church of England” with “Supreme Governor”.
• Act of Supremacy demanded that clergy & royal officials swear an oath that they accepted Queen’s title.
• It also sought to repeal laws on heresy and set up a Commission for Ecclesiastical causes which would have the right to judge on orthodox doctrine.
• Only one layman voted against it in the Lords due to the absence of the Abbot of Westminster and the 2 arrested bishops.

The act of Uniformity 1559

• Required use of the book of common prayer and provided a punishment for those who refused.
• Amended the 552 book which included the “black rubric” which declared that kneeling at communion must not be taken to imply that Christ was a real presence in brad and wine. This was omitted.
• Also removed insulting references to the Pope.
• Fine of one shilling for absence from church on Sundays and holy days.
• Surplice and Cope.