Religious Settlement 1559 Flashcards
What were the two main acts of the religious settlement?
- act of supremacy
- act of uniformity
What was the act of supremacy?
to firmly establish the English monarch as the official head of the Church of England. It stated that the queen was “supreme governor” of the Church of England
What was the act of uniformity
An amended version of the 1552 Prayer Book was reissued under the Act of Uniformity of 1559
Why did Elizabeth want to please the catholic’s ?
very powerful Catholic states were carefully scrutinising religious events in England. At this time, 1559, Spain was seen as an ally. She didn’t want to anger Catholic France and push the French government even more into a relationship with Scotland
What was the first problem Mary faced ?
when Convocation stated its belief in Papal supremacy and its support for the doctrine of transubstantiation
What was the problem with the act of supremacy ?
Neither zealous Catholics or Protestants were willing to accept a woman as Head of the Church – hence Elizabeth’s compromise of taking the title ‘Supreme Governor’ as opposed to ‘Head’.
What was the challenge in passing the act of supremacy and how did Elizabeth deal with it ?
The arrest and imprisonment in the Tower of two catholic bishops during the Easter Recess of 1559 may have also ‘persuaded’ some Catholics in the Lords that it was in their best interests to support the new Queen.
What was the religious settlement unable to do ?
it could never have satisfied the wishes of those who were at the religious extremes of society
How did the act of supremacy please people ?
This may have been to appease Catholics who believed the Pope was “head” of the church, or to appease those who believed a woman could not be head of the church
What did the act of supremacy include that the clergy needed to do ?
This Act also included an oath of loyalty to the Queen that the clergy were expected to take. If they did not take it, then they would lose their office
What happened with transubstantiation in the prayer book ?
The wording of the Communion was to be vague so that Protestants and Catholics could both participate
How difficult was it passing the act of uniformity and why ?
passing the Act of Uniformity was much more difficult. A large number of the Parliament, who were still Catholic, opposed the bill, and it was eventually only passed by three votes. Radical Protestants didn’t like and neither did radical catholic’s
What was a difficulty for Protestant reformers who wanted to pass acts ?
the House of Lords, including the bishops, was staunchly Roman Catholic.
How did Elizabeth’s future marriage have an influence on the religious settlement?
Elizabeth would soon marry and that her future consort might wish to exert his influence over the religious settlement, she already had a proposal from the Spanish catholic King Phillip
Who did Elizabeth’s reign After Mary’s give hope to but she disappointed them ?
The Religious Settlement did not enforce the Puritan view of church layout, decorations or the dress of preachers.
What catholic element did Elizabeth have to remove due to a lack of support ?
The main areas that puritans disagreed with were the allowance of crucifixes, For puritans, it was an icon and as such ought not to be permitted. Puritan bishops threatened to resign if the crucifix was imposed. Due to the number of bishops and the lack of suitable replacements, Elizabeth had to remove the imposition of the crucifix from the Settlement.
How did the war with France affect the settlement ?
Mary had lost Calais in the Habsburg-Valois, Elizabeth wanted peace and she thought it might make negotiations easier if England did not become aggressively Protestant
What was the act of uniformity?
- 1552 book of common prayer to be used in all churches
- all must attend church or pay a fine
What other acts were involved in the settlement?
- taxes paid by the church were to be paid to Elizabeth
- the monasteries Mary has restores were dissolved again
- clergy could marry but their wives had to be approved by a bishop
What was involved in the royal injunctions?
- clergy were to wear distinctive dress
- Music was encouraged
- congregations were to now at the name of Jesus
- unleavened bread could be used for communion
Why did some Protestants disagree with the settlement?
Marian exiles were hoping for a settlement leaning more towards Calvinism, they wanted to erase all catholic elements
How was the settlement successful in terms of rebellions ?
the settlement prevented wide scale uprising, and so can be judged as at least partially successful
How was the settlement unsuccessful in terms of rebellions ?
the continued presence of Catholics and plots against the monarch, as well as existence of Puritans shows that the settlement was not entirely successful at creating uniform faith
What were the plots against Elizabeth that may show the settlement was not successful ?
The babington plot
The Ridolfi plot
The throckmorton plot
