Rachel Evans
Queen Elizabeth I's religious views were Protestant, though peculiarly conservative, and she kept many of her beliefs private. When she ascended to the throne, one of her first decisions was whether the Church of England should remain Catholic and obedient to Rome, or become Protestant and independent of the Pope. She chose the latter, and her government passed new Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity in 1559, making it mandatory to acknowledge the Queen as the head of the Church and to attend Church of England services. This led to the persecution of Catholic Jesuit missionaries, resulting in many executions. Elizabeth's Catholic subjects were torn between their loyalty to the Queen and their loyalty to the Pope, and the publication of the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis in 1570, which excommunicated Elizabeth and released her subjects from their allegiance to her, marked a turning point in her reign. From then on, Catholics were viewed as a significant threat to the Queen and the realm, and Elizabeth's government was forced to adopt a harsher stance against them.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth's religious views | Protestant, but "peculiarly conservative" |
| Her attitude towards Catholics | Did not seem to be particularly anti-Catholic, as long as they did not cause trouble |
| Catholic worship | Outlawed |
| Catholic priests | Executed |
| Catholic plots against Elizabeth | Ridolfi plot, Throckmorton plot, Gunpowder plot |
| Catholic colleges | Founded in Douai, France, and Rome |
| Catholic priests in England | Lived in secret, often in "priest holes" built by rich Catholic families |
| Catholic martyrs | St. Cuthbert Mayne, Margaret Clitherow, Edmund Campion |
| Catholic persecution | Intensified by the destruction of the Gaelic clan system |
| Catholic dispossession | Land appropriated by Anglican and Nonconformist Protestant settlers |
| Catholic allegiance | Divided between loyalty to the Queen and the Pope |
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What You'll Learn
Elizabeth I's religious views and policies
Elizabeth I inherited a nation suffering from religious flux, with a history of religious turmoil and political unrest due to the religious changes made by her predecessors, Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I. Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church, establishing the Church of England with himself as its head, while Edward VI's reign saw the Church of England adopt Reformed theology and liturgy. Mary I, on the other hand, reversed these changes, reuniting England with the Catholic Church and recognizing the Pope's authority.
Elizabeth's religious views were Protestant, though described as "peculiarly conservative." She kept many of her beliefs private, but it is known that she disliked married clergy and held Lutheran views on Eucharistic presence. She also preferred the more ceremonial 1549 prayer book. Elizabeth's principal secretary, Sir William Cecil, was a moderate Protestant, and her Privy Council was composed of former Edwardian politicians. Only Protestants preached at Court. Initially, Elizabeth maintained that there had been no change in religion to avoid alarming foreign Catholic observers.
Elizabeth's main goal as queen was to stabilize the nation and strengthen the government, free from foreign influence in matters of church and state. To achieve this, she needed to establish a new religious settlement that was as inclusive as possible while minimizing confrontation. The Elizabethan Settlement was an attempt to end the religious turmoil and unite the people of the realm under a uniform order of religion. The Act of Supremacy of 1558 re-established the Church of England's independence from Rome, with Elizabeth as its Supreme Governor. The Act of Uniformity of 1558 reintroduced the Book of Common Prayer, which contained the liturgical services of the church.
While Elizabeth's religious settlement favored Protestantism, she did not seem to be particularly anti-Catholic, as long as Catholics did not pose a threat to her regime. She allowed her subjects to practice their preferred religion as long as it did not disrupt the social order. However, in 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth, declaring her a heretic and releasing her Catholic subjects from their allegiance to her. This, along with Catholic plots and rebellions against Elizabeth, contributed to a perception that Catholicism was treasonous. As a result, Catholics in England faced increased persecution, with their Masses being banned and their priests executed or martyred.
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Catholic plots against Elizabeth I
The reign of Elizabeth I was marked by various Catholic plots that aimed to depose her and restore Catholicism in England. These plots emerged from the divisions caused by Elizabeth's Religious Settlement of 1559, which established Protestantism as the state religion, alienating Catholics. The Catholic Church excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570, declaring her illegitimate and encouraging her overthrow. This heightened the urgency of Catholic plots, which sought to replace Elizabeth with her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic.
One of the most famous plots was the Ridolfi Plot, named after Roberto Ridolfi, an international banker and ardent Catholic. The plan involved the Duke of Alba of Spain invading England from the Netherlands with 10,000 men, fomenting a rebellion among the Catholic nobles in the North, murdering Elizabeth, and installing Mary on the throne. Mary would then marry Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, and together they would restore Catholicism in England. However, Walsingham's spy network intercepted incriminating letters, and Norfolk was executed for treason.
Another significant plot was the Babington Plot, which was a combination of two separate plots that intertwined through rumours and double agents. Sir Francis Walsingham played a crucial role in this plot, using double agents to intercept letters between Mary and her people in Paris. This plot ultimately led to Elizabeth's decision to execute Mary, Queen of Scots, effectively ending Catholic hopes of using her as a figurehead.
The Throckmorton Plot, involving the Jesuit Edward Campion, was another conspiracy against Elizabeth. Although the Jesuits posed a threat, their overall threat was minimal. Elizabeth introduced a series of laws, such as the 1581 Act of Persuasions, which increased fines for recusancy and made conversion to Catholicism high treason, to reduce the Catholic challenge in England. These laws, combined with the efforts of her spymaster Francis Walsingham, prevented Catholic plots from becoming a serious threat to Elizabeth's rule.
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Catholic priests executed under Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I's religious views were Protestant, though "peculiarly conservative". She kept many of her religious views private, making it difficult to discern her true beliefs. She did not like married clergy, held Lutheran views on Eucharistic presence, and preferred the more ceremonial 1549 prayer book.
Elizabeth's main goal upon ascending the throne was to solidify her position. One of her first decisions was to choose between maintaining the Catholic Church in England or establishing a Protestant church independent of the Pope. She chose the latter, making herself the head of the Church of England. In 1559, her government passed new Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, requiring all subjects to acknowledge her as the head of the Church and to attend Church of England services.
The majority of Catholics simply wanted to practice their religion while remaining loyal subjects of the Queen. However, due to events such as the failed 1569 rebellion in the north of England, where rebels held Mass in Durham Cathedral, Catholics began to be viewed as dangerous traitors. This perception was further fueled by Pope Pius V's excommunication of Elizabeth in 1570, releasing English Catholics from their allegiance to her.
As a result of these tensions, Catholic priests became targets. In 1577, St. Cuthbert Mayne became the first of 123 English Catholic priests to be martyred during Elizabeth's reign. Priests who had been ordained before Elizabeth's reign began to die off, so the Catholic Church established seminaries in Europe to train new priests. These priests would then enter England secretly, ministering to the faithful and making new converts. However, in 1585, it became a crime punishable by death to be ordained into the Catholic priesthood or to provide aid to a Catholic priest.
Some of the Catholic priests executed under Elizabeth I include:
- Edmund Campion, tortured and hanged in 1581
- Nicholas Devereux (alias Nicholas Woodfen) and Edward Barber, executed in 1586
- William Thomson and Richard Lea, hanged, disemboweled, and quartered
- Eight priests and six laymen at Newgate, condemned and executed
- John Mawson, a layman, executed in 1614
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![Conviction of Popish Recusancy and Non-Jurors Examin'D, in a Case [The Case of R. Welton]. 1723 Leather Bound](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/617DLHXyzlL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Catholic worship under Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I's religious views were Protestant, though "peculiarly conservative". She disliked married clergy, held Lutheran views on Eucharistic presence, and preferred the more ceremonial 1549 prayer book. Her principal secretary was Sir William Cecil, a moderate Protestant, and her Privy Council was filled with former Edwardian politicians. Only Protestants preached at Court.
Elizabeth's first Parliament opened in January 1559, with the chief goal of reaching a religious settlement. Twenty bishops (all Catholics) sat in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual, and the Lords in general were opposed to change. In February, the House of Commons passed a Reformation Bill that would restore royal supremacy, the Edwardine Ordinal, and a slightly revised 1552 prayer book. However, the Convocation of Canterbury reacted by affirming papal supremacy, transubstantiation, and the Mass as a sacrificial offering.
In April 1559, Parliament reconvened and the Privy Council introduced two new bills: one concerning royal supremacy and the other about a Protestant liturgy. The Pope's jurisdiction in England was abolished, and Elizabeth was made the supreme governor of the Church of England. All clergy and royal office-holders were required to swear an Oath of Supremacy.
In 1562, the Council of Trent ruled out any outward conformity or Nicodemism for Catholics, stating that Catholics could not be present at heretics' prayers or sermons without committing a "heinous offence" and incurring the "indignation of God". By the late 1560s, recusancy was becoming more common. In 1569, the Revolt of the Northern Earls attempted to overthrow England's Protestant regime. The rebellion was defeated, but it contributed to the perception that Catholicism was treasonous.
In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth, declaring her illegitimate and releasing her Catholic subjects from any obligation to obey her. This confirmed the perception that Catholics were traitors, and two Catholics, John Felton and John Story, were executed for treason. Elizabeth's government soon began to suspect all Catholics of treason, and harsh anti-Catholic legislation was enacted. Many English Catholics fled to Europe, where they lived in exile, hoping for the eventual return of Catholic rule in England.
In 1577, St. Cuthbert Mayne became the first of 123 English Catholic priests to be martyred during Elizabeth's reign. In 1581, an Act was passed that made it treason to withdraw English subjects from allegiance to the Queen or her Church, and fines for recusancy were increased to twenty pounds, a significant amount at the time.
While Elizabeth did not seem to be particularly anti-Catholic as long as Catholics did not cause trouble, she was faced with numerous plots against her life by Catholics, beginning in the 1570s. These plots further solidified the idea that Catholics were traitors.
Despite the challenges, some Catholics managed to practice their faith in secret. This "survivalist Catholicism" involved counterfeiting the mass, teaching the seven sacraments, preserving images of saints, reciting the rosary, and observing feasts, fasts, and customs. Over time, however, this underground Catholicism was undermined by pressures to conform, and England gradually became a predominantly Protestant country.
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Catholic education under Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I inherited a kingdom divided over religion. Her father, Henry VIII, had separated the Church of England from the Catholic Church, declaring himself its supreme head on earth. Under her half-brother, Edward VI, the Church of England became more explicitly Protestant. However, her half-sister, Mary I, reversed these religious innovations, reinstating Catholicism as England's state religion.
When Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558, she reversed her sister's religious changes, sweeping aside Roman Catholicism. In 1559, her government passed new Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, making it compulsory to acknowledge the queen as the head of the Church of England and to attend Church of England services. Elizabeth's religious views were Protestant, though "peculiarly conservative". She disliked married clergy, held Lutheran views on Eucharistic presence, and preferred the more ceremonial 1549 prayer book.
In the early years of Elizabeth's reign, most Catholics hoped the Protestant ascendancy would be temporary, as it had been under Mary. Elizabeth was content to adopt a cautious approach in the early years of her reign, tolerating Catholics as long as they were loyal to the Queen and discreet in their worship. However, Bishops had been instructed to remove all forms of Catholic practices in services, leading to a lack of clarity in early religious policies.
In 1562, the Council of Trent ruled out any outward conformity or Nicodemism for Catholics, stating that Catholics could not attend Protestant prayers or sermons without committing a "heinous offence" and incurring the "indignation of God". In 1568, the English College at Douai was founded to provide a Catholic education to young Englishmen and, eventually, to train a new leadership for a restored Catholic Church in England. By the mid-1570s, there were around 240 students at Douai, and it was here that the famous Douai translation of the Bible into English was made.
In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I and declared her a heretic, releasing her Catholic subjects from any obligation to obey her. This, along with the failed 1569 Revolt of the Northern Earls, contributed to a perception that Catholicism was treasonous. Subsequently, two Catholics, John Felton and John Story, were executed for treason.
In 1577, St. Cuthbert Mayne became the first of 123 English Catholic priests to be martyred in Elizabeth's reign. By the 1580s, conformist Protestants were becoming a majority, and Catholic worship went underground, completely separate from the Church of England.
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Frequently asked questions
Queen Elizabeth I did not ban Catholics, but her reign saw the persecution of Catholics and the execution of Catholic priests. Elizabeth's religious views were Protestant, and she made the Church of England Protestant with services in English.
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was the decision made by Queen Elizabeth I to make the Church of England Protestant and independent from the Pope. This was a reversal of the religious policies of her predecessor and half-sister, Mary I, who had made Catholicism the state religion of England.
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement had a significant impact on Catholics in England. While Elizabeth initially tried to accommodate Catholic beliefs, the Catholic Church's refusal to accept her legitimacy as Queen and the plots against her life led to Catholics being seen as a threat. This resulted in the persecution of Catholics, with priests being executed and Catholics fined and physically punished for refusing to attend Anglican services.
In 1570, Pope Pius V issued a bull of excommunication against Elizabeth I, declaring her illegitimate and releasing her Catholic subjects from their allegiance to her. This created a loyalty conflict for Catholics, who were torn between their loyalty to the Queen and their loyalty to the Pope.
Wealthy Catholic families often had priest holes built in their homes to hide priests in the event of a search by the authorities. Catholic priests lived in secret and risked execution if discovered.
