Elizabethan England: Religious Settlement Flashcards
What are the key features of a Roman Catholic church? (9)
• The Pope is the head of the church
• Underneath the pope are the cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests
• Church services and the bible should be in Latin
• The church can forgive sins
• Priests are special and should wear vestments
• During mass a miracle occurs (bread and wine represents Jesus)
• Churches should highly decorate and honour God
• There are seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, marriage and holy orders.)
• Priests are forbidden to marry
What are the key features of a Protestant church? (10)
• There should not be a pope
• Not necessary to have cardinals, archbishops or bishops
• The bible and church services should be in your own language
• People have a direct relationship with God through prayer and bible study
• Bread and wine represents the last supper, not a miracle
• Sins can only be forgiven by God
• Priests are not special so should not wear special clothing
• Churches should be plain and simple so as not to distract from God
• Only two sacraments(baptism and holy communion)
• Priests can marry
What was the problem Elizabeth I faced with the clergy?
Elizabeth was the first real protestant monarch but most of her clergy (religious leaders) were Roman Catholic and were in the House of Lords. Although many priests changed their religion to keep their job, some were devout and went against the Queen.
what were puritans
people who wanted to purity the Christian religion by getting rid of anything not in the bible
which area of England remained largely catholic
the north- especially Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire
which areas of England where more protestant
London, East Anglia and the south-east - they had closer links with the Netherlands and the German states where Protestants had become popular
What were the three main features of Elizabeth’s religious settlement?
The Act of Supremacy (made Elizabeth supreme Governor of the church .
Clergy and Royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her as the head of the church)
• The Act of Uniformity (established the appearance of churches and the form of services they held)
• The Royal injunctions (set of instructions that reinforced the other two acts and told people how they should worship God and what the structure of the services should be like)
What was made under the Act of Supremacy?
An Ecclesiastical High Commission was established to maintain discipline and enforce the queen’s religious settlement. Members of the clergy whose loyalty was in doubt could be punished
What was to be used in all church services according to the Act of Uniformity and why?
A Book of Common prayers. This was because the prayer book was written in such a way so that the service was unclear. As a result, protestants and Catholics could interpret teachings differently. It taught that priests had to wear vestments as well.
How often did people have to attend church according to the Act of Uniformity?
People had to attend church every Sunday and on holy days, else they would be fined one shilling (the average workers weekly pay). However this would not be a serious amount of money for the nobility
What issues did the Royal Injunctions cover?
aka what was in the royal injunctions (6)
• Clergy had to teach the Royal Supremacy
• People who did not attend church had to be reported to the Privy Council
• Each Parish had to have a copy of the Bible in English
• No one was allowed to preach without a licence from the Government
• Pilgrimages were banned and monuments to “fake” miracles were banned
• Clergy had to wear special vestments
How was the Religious Settlement inclusive? (3)
• The wording in the book of common prayer could be understood to mean different things by Catholics and protestants
• the communion Sacrament referred to in the Book of Common prayer could be interpreted as transubstantiation by Catholics or be viewed as an act of remembrance by Protestants
• The royal injunctions banned pilgrimages to “fake” miracles which made the protestants pleased whiles also pleasing the Catholics as they approved of the possibility of “real miracles”
what were the impacts of the religious settlement?
• clergy
• ordinary people
• bishops
• 8000 clergy out of about 10,000 accepted the religious settlement
• The majority of ordinary people accepted Elizabeth’s religious settlement and attended the church services. even though many of them held on to Catholic beliefs
• Only one bishop agreed to take the oath, all the others stepped down and Elizabeth appointed 27 new bishops. This gave her the opportunity to put protestants in place which strenghthed protestantism.
How did the people take Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement?
• north
• protestants
- The majority of ordinary people accepted the new religious settlement.
- The new prayer book worked with Catholics as they could interpret it in a Roman Catholic way.
- In the North, it took a while for services to change but they did.
- Elizabeth made it clear she did not want the settlement enforced too strongly, even against recusants.
- Some Protestants welcomed Elizabeth’s settlement with violent enthusiasm (destruction of church ornaments and statues)
What did church courts do?
Church courts dealt with Church matters but also acted on minor disputes and moral issues such as: marriage, sexual offences, slander, wills and inheritance
