Religious Settlement Flashcards
When was the Religious Settlement passed?
1559
What were the elements of the Religious Settlement?
Act of Supremacy
Act of Uniformity
Royal injunctions
What did the Act of Supremacy state?
Elizabeth would call herself ‘Supreme Governor’ not Head of the Church of England
All clergy had to take oath of loyalty to her
Communion in both kinds were authorised
Heresy laws were repealed
Church organisation remained the same with a hierarchy of archbishops + bishops, puritans displeased
What did the Act of Uniformity state?
Church services + Bible in English
The Black Rubric removed from Prayer Book
Recusant fines for those who didn’t attend Mass
Ensured the dress of the priests remained largely Catholic
Defined how churches should be decorated
What royal injunctions were there?
Preachers had to be licensed- so gov could control the number of more radical preachers
Clergy could be married but had to be approved by a bishop
Every church had to possess English Bible
Clergy to wear colourful vestments
Taxes, the first Fruits and Tenths would be paid to Elizabeth again
Reasons why Elizabeth should have a Protestant Church?
Elizabeth preferred priests from this group
In Roman Catholic eyes she was illegitimate-if she didn’t make protestant settlement it would undermine her claim to be Queen
Own personal beliefs; daughter of Anne Boleyn, Boleyn’s were early + committed Protestants
didn’t agree with Catholic practices eg walked out of church Christmas day 1558 rather than witnessing bishop lift host-transubstantiation
What opposition did Elizabeth face to the settlement?
Bills didn’t initially pass through the Catholic dominated House of Lords.
Marian Bishops refused to take oath of loyalty to Elizabeth
All 17 Bishops opposed idea of Royal Supremacy
Forced to resign, removed or arrested.
What were the aims of the Settlement?
Settle religion, ensure her subjects knew which faith to follow
due to changes since 1529 many people were confused, E believed country couldn’t be strong if divided by religion
Lots of religious changes in past, avoid rebellion (lack of finances), peace
To avoid conflict
Compromise, find a middle way
Yes, the settlement was successful:
Acts made it clear what services should look like
Royal injunctions gave clear instructions of what Elizabeth wanted as her church
forced acts through despite first attempt failing-compromised with supreme title
Determined that her settlement was complete-filling aims of sticking to something-not messing public around-strength
Settlement allowed her to keep power eg Catholics didn’t view her legitimate + didn’t want to lose power to Pope
At war with France (Catholic) easier to negotiate peace if not aggressively Protestant
Had concerns about Philip II of Spain-devout Catholic, had to ensure it didn’t bring about persecution of Catholics or war
Act of Unity ensured unity-united = not weak
No, RS not successful
Tried to be vague in order to not alienate anyone eg giving church some Catholic characteristics would prevent Spain from giving MQS support - not everyone happy with compromise
Protestants thought it should go further
Conflict in Parliament-they wanted her to change RS
Faced opposition, not everyone supported it
Many disappointed
Evidence that people opposed the RS
In the House of Lords there were 21 votes in favour of Act of Uniformity and 18 against
In order to force Act of Supremacy she had to send bishops of Lincoln and Winchester to tower for disobedience
Conclusion points?
Elizabeth made her religious settlement in difficult circumstances
adopted policy of expediency
didn’t have money to spend on war-avoided this
established her royal prerogative + made it clear
religion and gender?
John Knox wrote critique of female monarchy at end of Mary’s reign because against God’s will
John Aylmer also had doubts about female monarch but said it wasn’t too dangerous because her gov would be headed by male councillors-not too much damage
Why did the title alter from ‘Supreme Head’ to ‘Supreme Governor’?
To get act accepted
Catholics believed Pope was Head of Church
Protestants didn’t think a woman could hold leadership
What title did Elizabeth earn?
“Virgin Queen” due to dedication
Cultivated her image as a queen married to her job + her people
