religious developments Flashcards
What was the queen’s perspective of the state of religion in 1563? What countered this?
It was broadly positive, she’d achieved the settlement she had largely desired.
There was large concern among the higher and lower clergy though, regarding the apparently unreformed nature of the Church.
What was the position of Catholics in England in 1563?
They were not subject to persecution but found it difficult to practise their faith in pubic.
What was the key issue regarding religion in 1563?
Whether the settlement was to be regarded as ‘complete’ or whether there was scope for more change.
What form of religion emerged amongst those who considered the settlement incomplete?
Puritanism.
In what years was Puritanism an important influence?
In the 1560s and 1570s.
What did Puritans believe in?
The eradication of ‘popish superstition’.
Where can the emergence of Puritanism be traced back to?
The failure of the Convocation (a formal assembly/gathering) of Canterbury in 1563 to go further in its reform of the Church.
What controversy emerged due to tensions between the queen, who wanted conformity + acceptance of the settlement, and Puritans who wanted to eradicate ‘superstitious’ practices?
It led to the Vestiarian Controversy.
What was the Vestiarian Controversy?
Several Puritan figures within the Church decided that they could not obey the rules on clerical dress laid down in the Act of Uniformity and royal injunctions as it specified wearing of Catholic and therefore ‘superstitious’ dress.
How did the queen force the issue of the Vestiarian Controversy?
By dismissing prominent Oxford academic Thomas Sampson from his post at Christ Church College for his refusal to wear the required vestments.
What did Archbishop Parker and 5 other bishops issue in March 1556?
The ‘Advertisements’ which required clergy to follow ‘one uniformity of rites and manners’ in the administration of the sacraments and ‘one decent behaviour in their outward apparel’.
Basically aimed to enforce conformity in the Church.
How many London clergymen were deprived of their posts for refusing to signify support for Archbishop Parker’s ‘Advertisements’?
37, all refusing to wear specific clerical vestments.
What did the whole business of the Vestiarian Controversy show about the queen?
The extent of her determination to enforce the settlement.
What inner conflict did reforming bishops face during the Vestiarian Controversy?
The need to obey royal supremacy and the desire to remove the remaining vestiges of Catholic practice within the Church.
What Puritan movement emerged partly in reaction to the Vestiarian Controversy?
The Presbyterian movement.
What did Presbyterians believe?
That the Church of England, already Calvinist in its doctrine, should be further reformed in its structure and its forms of worship.
Where did Presbyterian views grow out of?
Calvin’s views on Church organisation and discipline.
What did some Presbyterians begin to question? Where were these criticisms voiced?
The scriptural basis for the authority of bishops and other aspects of the Church.
They were voiced in two pamphlets known as the two Admonitions.
Who was the main author of the two Admonitions?
John Field.
What did the first Admonition do?
It attacked the Book of Common Prayer and called for the abolition of bishops.
What did the second Admonition do?
Provided a detailed description of a Presbyterian system of Church government.
Who was the pamphlet war between?
Thomas Cartwright and John Whitgift.
Who was Thomas Cartwright and what did he believe?
A Cambridge academic who believed that a church founded on ‘superstitious’ or ‘popish’ principles must be spiritually flawed, and the 1559 settlement had to be modified.
Who was John Whitgift and what did he believe?
He was the vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, later becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury, arguing that the Presbyterians’ attitude was destructive and would split the Church.
Where was the Presbyterian movement largely confined to?
London, Essex, the university of Cambridge, Suffolk and parts of the east Midlands. It was a geographically narrow movement.
What high ranking support did the Presbyterian movement gain?
The Earl of Huntingdon, the Earl of Leicester, and even Lord Burghley saw the advantages of Presbyterianism against the influence of Catholicism.
All 3 defended clergymen from authorities because of their alleged sympathy for the movement.
When did the Presbyterian movement grow? How did it grow?
In the 1580s.
Ideas for Church government through local assemblies + provincial and national synods were developed.
How was growth of Presbyterian movements limited?
Attempts to bring change through Parliament failed, despite efforts of Peter Turner in 1584 and Anthony Cope in 1587.
What was John Whitgift determined to do as Archbishop of Canterbury?
Destroy Presbyterianism.
What were the Three Articles of 1583 issued by Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift, in which the Clergy had to subscribe?
- Acknowledgement of the royal supremacy
- Acceptance of the prayer book as containing nothing ‘contrary to the Word of God’
- Acceptance that the Thirty Nine Articles conformed to the word of God
Why did Whitgift’s second article create a crisis of conscience for many clergy, and not just Presbyterians? What did this force Whitgift to do?
They thought that some parts of the prayer book lacked scriptural justification.
Whitgift was forced to back down under pressure from councillors such as Leicester and Walsingham.
What did Whitgift have to adapt his second article to? How was this justified by the clergy?
A simple acceptance of the prayer book, acceptance justified by most clergy through arguing that their preaching ensured godliness within the Church.
What success did Whitgift’s campaign have?
Forced Burghley’s protege, George Gifford, out of his post and Cartwright was refused a license to preach, despite Leicester’s pleas.
What problems did Whitgift’s campaign have? [2]
He caused much despair among clergymen by treating radical and moderates alike.
He had support of the queen, but many of her ministers regarded his policies and attitudes with suspicion.
When did Presbyterianism start to decline?
By the late 1580s.
Why had the Presbyterian movement started to decline? [5]
- Very few Puritan clergy were prepared to break with the Church by refusing to accept the 3 articles
- Failure of Cope’s ‘Bill and Book’ in 1587 showed the futility of a parliamentary approach
- Further weakened by the death of its key organiser, John Field, in 1589
- No synod held after 1589
- Reputation of the Presbyterian movement suffered on account of the satirical Marprelate tracts
What was the most extreme form of Puritanism?
Spearatism.
What was Separatism?
It was the want to separate from the Church of England altogether.
How did most mainstream Puritans regard Separatists?
With abhorrence and disgust.
How did Separatists regard the Church of England?
As incapable of reforming itself sufficiently to root out all ‘popish’ practices, wanting to create independent church congregations.
How did Separatists regard the queen?
They opposed her status as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
When did Separatism emerge?
In the 1580s.
Who became the leader of a significant Separatist congregation in Norwich? What happened to him?
Robert Browne. His challenge soon weakened and he went into exile in the Netherlands with some of his congregation in 1582.
He later returned to England and made peace with authorities in 1585, aided by his relative, Lord Burghley.
Who led Separatist movements in London?
Henry Barrow and John Greenwood.
What did Barrow and Greenwood’s Separatist activities lead to?
The passing of the Act against Seditious Sectaries in 1593.
What happened to Separatists Barrow, Greenwood and John Penry?
They were tried and executed for ‘devising and circulating seditious books’.
What is the explanation for the authorities adopting harsh measures against the numerically insignificant Separatist movement?
It is difficult to explain, but the vindictiveness (desire for revenge) of Archbishop Whitgift has been put forward as an explanation.
Whatever the reason, Elizabethan Separatism was destroyed.
Why had the Puritan influence declined in the late 1580s? [3]
- Deaths of Leicester, Mildmay and Walsingham, who were its political supporters at court
- Defeat of Spanish Armada reduced perceived threat of Catholicism and lessened its attractions
- Disappearance of Presbyterianism meant Puritan attitudes became more acceptable within traditional Church structure
How were the Calvinist beliefs of the Church of England reaffirmed in 1595?
Through the Lambeth Articles, proving acceptable to Puritans and their opponents such as Whitgift.
What were the Lambeth Articles?
A series of nine points of doctrine, approved by Whitgift, which largely reasserted the essentially Calvinist doctrine of the Elizabethan Church.
What was Elizabeth quoted to have often said, leading to an assumption that she adopted an attitude of toleration of Catholics in the early years of her reign?
Not wishing to make ‘windows into men’s souls’.
What was the issue with the fines laid down in the Act of Supremacy 1559 for those who did not attend Church?
They were rarely demanded.
How did most English Catholics survive?
As ‘church papists’, outwardly conforming and obeying the law by attending Anglican services.
What did the Catholic bishops do?
All but one refused to conform to the Oath of Supremacy 1559.
What were recusants?
Catholics who refused to go to Church, or conducted secret Catholic services.
Why was the a provocation of punitive attitudes towards Catholics after 1569?
Due to the Northern Rebellion, which had large Catholic undertones.
When did Pope Pius V excommunicate Elizabeth?
In 1570.
Why did Elizabeth’s excommunication place English Catholics in an impossible position?
Pope Pius V had called on all loyal Catholics to depose her. This meant they were forced to choose between loyalty to their Church and loyalty to their monarch.
How many progressively more severe Acts were passed against Catholics during the 1570s and 1580s?
3.
What did a 1571 Act against Catholics do?
Made the publication of papal bulls treasonable.
What did the 1581 Act to Retain the Queen’s Majesty’s Subjects in their Due Obedience do? [3]
- Made it treason to withdraw subjects’ allegiance to either the queen or the Church of England.
- Saying Mass became punishable by heavy fine/imprisonment
- Fine for non-attendance at church was raised to £20 a month
How many Catholic priests were executed in 1581?
4.
How many Catholic priests were executed in 1582?
11.
What did the 1585 Act against Jesuits and Seminary Priests do?
Made it treasonable for priests ordained under the Pope’s authority to enter England.
This made it much easier for courts to secure convictions for treason.
How many priests were convicted and executed under the terms of the 1585 Act against Jesuits and Seminary Priests from 1586-1603?
123.
What was the fine for recusancy set to in 1581?
£20 per month, which is around £6000 now.
What was the fine for recusancy tightened to in 1587?
Any recusant who defaulted on his payment of fines could have 2/3 of his estate seized by the Exchequer.
When was persecution of recusants at its height?
From 1588-1592.
What was the reason for the tightening of recusant legislation?
Partly a response to the international situation and worsening relations with Catholic King Philip II of Spain, and partly because of fear of Catholic rebellion, made worse by onset of Catholic missions of priests intent on upholding the spread of Catholicism.
How was pressure against Catholics in October 1584?
The drafting of a ‘Bond of Association for the Preservation of the Queen’s Majesty’s Royal Person’ by Burghley and Walsingham in response to the Throckmorton Plot.
What did the ‘Bond of Association for the Preservation of the Queen’s Majesty’s Royal Person’ mean?
Anyone who took the oath of association was required to immediately ‘execute’ (murder) anyone who attempted to usurp the Crown or make an attempt at Elizabeth’s life.
What was the 1568 college at Douai in the Spanish Netherlands created to do?
Train Catholic priests to be sent to England to keep Catholicism alive and win new converts.
How many ‘seminary priests’ had arrived in England by 1575, and then by between 1580-1585?
11 in 1575 and then 179 between 1580 and 85.
Why was being a seminary priest dangerous work?
They had to operate in secretive circumstances, from country houses of the Catholic gentry and aristocracy. Just being a Catholic priest was sufficient from 1585 for the death penalty.
What did the Society of Jesus begin to do in 1580?
Send Jesuit priests to England. combining high intelligence and organisational skills with a dedication to restore the Catholic faith to England.
Who were the first Jesuits to become involved in the attempt to restore Catholicism to England?
Robert Parsons and Edmund Campion, but Campion was captured and executed in 1581.
Why was the success of Catholic missions limited?
As it ignored the more humble Catholics, whilst the gentry were enabled to retain their faith. Educated priests associated more readily with their protectors than ordinary people, and so became more of a ‘country house religion’ than restoring to what Catholicism had been in the 1560s.
Priests also became divided as a bitter dispute over leadership of the movement, weakening the Catholic mission.
Why did most Catholic priests operate in the south-east? Why was this an issue for their mission?
Due to proximity of Channel ports. This was an issue as it was the where the proportion of Catholics in England was smallest.
In 1580, nearly half of priests in England were serving relatively small population of Catholics in London, Essex and the Thames Valley, with very few being up north where Catholic population was much higher.
