Joshua Bennett
Queen Elizabeth I's religious views were Protestant, though peculiarly conservative. She was a divine-right queen with a sworn duty to maintain the one true faith. 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 its services. Elizabeth's religious settlement permanently shaped the Church of England's doctrine and liturgy, laying the foundation for the unique identity of Anglicanism. However, Catholics were seen as a threat to the Queen and the realm, and many plots against her life were made, including the famous Northern Rebellion in 1569. Elizabeth's government believed that Catholics, particularly Jesuits, posed a serious threat to her reign. This led to the persecution and execution of many Catholic priests and their supporters.
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What You'll Learn
Elizabeth's cautious approach to Catholics
Elizabeth I's approach to Catholics was shaped by the bitter religious divisions in England between Catholics and Protestants, resulting from the religious changes of her predecessors. Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church, establishing himself as the supreme head of the Church of England. Edward VI's reign saw the Church of England adopt Reformed theology and liturgy, which was reversed under Mary I, who reunited England with the Catholic Church.
Elizabeth's Religious Settlement aimed to end this turmoil. It re-established the Church of England's independence from Rome, with Elizabeth as its Supreme Governor. She took a middle way approach, positioning herself as Protestant but allowing room for manoeuvre on key doctrines. She retained certain rituals, such as keeping her crucifix and candles, and insisted that her bishops wear vestments, despite their protests. She also resisted calls from her ministers for more repressive measures against Catholics, understanding that this would force Catholics to choose between their faith and their country.
However, Elizabeth's approach was not without its challenges. Catholics, including bishops, opposed a renewed break from Rome, while Protestants wanted her to go further in her reforms. The Pope's excommunication of Elizabeth in 1570 and encouragement of plots against her, as well as the activities of Catholic missionaries, increased tensions and fears of Catholic threats. Despite this, enforcement against Catholics was sometimes patchy, and Elizabeth was horrified and furious when she learned of cruel executions, such as that of Margaret Clitherow, who was crushed to death for harbouring priests.
While Elizabeth's settlement brought some relief after Mary's religious persecution, Catholic sentiment remained strong in certain areas, and Catholics resented their loss of religious freedom. Many Catholics struggled with divided loyalties between the Queen and the Pope, and some left to live in exile. Elizabeth required outward obedience to the Protestant church but did not persecute Catholics for their beliefs, hoping they would participate in Protestant worship due to shared biblical teachings.
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Catholics' loyalty conflict after Elizabeth's excommunication
When Elizabeth I inherited the throne, England was bitterly divided between Catholics and Protestants due to the religious changes made by her predecessors. Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church, making himself the head of the Church of England. Edward VI's reign saw the Church of England adopt a Reformed theology and liturgy, and Queen Mary I reversed these policies, reuniting England with the Catholic Church.
Elizabeth's religious settlement was an attempt to end this turmoil. The Act of Supremacy of 1558 re-established the Church of England's independence from Rome, with Elizabeth as its Supreme Governor. However, this failed to end the religious disputes, and Elizabeth's position as a Protestant ruler breaking from Rome was not supported by Catholics.
In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth, declaring her a heretic and releasing her subjects from any loyalty to her. This placed English Catholics in a difficult position, forcing them to choose between their loyalty to the Queen and their loyalty to the Pope, whom they believed was God's representative on Earth. While some Catholics may have ignored the dilemma or remained loyal to both, the excommunication intensified anti-Catholic sentiment and solidified Elizabeth as a Protestant symbol. It also led to more Catholic plots against Elizabeth, which in turn led to more brutal and repressive measures against Catholics.
Despite the Pope's attempts to unify Catholics against Elizabeth, many English Catholics reaffirmed their loyalty to the Queen, fearing treason charges. They wanted to continue living and worshipping as Catholics, but most did not want the Pope to have political power. Elizabeth herself resisted harsher measures against Catholics, as she did not want to force them to choose between their faith and their country. However, as Catholic plots against her intensified, so did the violence against Catholic missionaries and suspects. The entrance of Jesuit priests into the country was prohibited by law in 1585, but they continued to enter England, risking execution for treason if discovered.
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Catholic plots against Elizabeth
When Elizabeth I inherited the throne, England was bitterly divided between Catholics and Protestants due to the religious changes of the preceding decades. Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church, becoming the supreme head of the Church of England. Edward VI's reign saw the Church of England adopt a Reformed theology and liturgy, and Queen Mary I reversed these policies, reuniting England with the Catholic Church. Elizabeth's aim was to end this turmoil and create a broad church that would recognise her sovereignty. She attempted to take up a "middling position" between the religious extremes, which became known as the Elizabethan Religious Settlement.
However, this settlement failed to end religious disputes. While most people conformed, a minority of recusant Catholics remained loyal to the Catholic Church. Elizabeth's compromise was not enough for either side, and she faced opposition from both Catholics and Protestants. The Catholics did not support another break from Rome, and the Protestants wanted her to go further in her rejection of Catholicism. Elizabeth's ministers saw Catholics as a threat to the crown, and pushed for more restrictive laws and practices against them.
Elizabeth's attempts to balance Catholic and Protestant forces ultimately failed, and she faced several Catholic plots against her rule. The 1570s and 1580s were particularly dangerous decades, with four major plots to remove Elizabeth and place the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne. In 1570, Pope Pius V issued a Papal Bull of Excommunication against Elizabeth, encouraging plots against her and urging Catholic priests to undertake secret missionary work in England to convert people back to Catholicism. If discovered, these priests could be sentenced to death for treason. Elizabeth's ministers saw danger in the Catholic minority, and their fears were not unfounded—several plots were uncovered, including the Ridolfi plot, the Throckmorton plot, and the Babington plot. In 1586, Sir Anthony Babington, a young English Catholic nobleman, was arrested and confessed to a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne. Coded letters between Babington and Mary were discovered, and Mary was moved to more secure accommodation. Babington and six other plotters were executed.
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Catholic persecution and execution of priests
When Elizabeth I inherited the throne, England was divided between Catholics and Protestants due to the religious changes of the preceding decades. Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church, with the Church of England adopting Reformed theology under Edward VI, only for these policies to be reversed under Mary I, who reunited England with the Catholic Church. Elizabeth's aim was to secure her position and she decided that the Church of England would be Protestant and independent of the Pope.
Elizabeth's settlement failed to end religious disputes, with a minority of Catholics remaining loyal to the Pope and refusing to accept Elizabeth as the spiritual ruler of Christians in England. This refusal was considered treasonous, and punishable by death. The Pope excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570, actively encouraging plots against her and releasing English Catholics from their allegiance to her. This resulted in Catholic missionaries entering England, and if discovered, they were sentenced to death for treason. For instance, Edmund Campion was executed in 1581. St Cuthbert Mayne became the first of 123 English Catholic priests to be martyred in 1577.
Elizabeth's ministers saw Catholics as a threat, pushing for more restrictive laws and practices against them. Recusancy fines were increased, and various other restrictions were imposed. However, these laws were often not enforced, or only half-heartedly so. For example, arrested Catholic priests were known to turn prisons into Mass centres before being exiled.
The persecution of Catholics was part of a broader identification of Protestantism with patriotism, with a supposed struggle for survival against an aggressive Catholic "Evil Empire".
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Elizabeth's tolerance of Catholics in local government
When Elizabeth I inherited the throne, England was bitterly divided between Catholics and Protestants due to the religious changes made by her predecessors. The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was an attempt to end this turmoil. Elizabeth took up a middle position, which was Protestant and broke from Rome, but allowed some room for manoeuvre on the key doctrines. She hoped Catholics would find it acceptable to participate in Protestant worship, as the English church was based on the same biblical teachings as Catholicism.
Elizabeth's ministers saw Catholics as a threat and were pushing for more clampdowns and restrictive laws and practices against them. Elizabeth resisted this, seemingly because she understood that bringing in more repressive measures would force Catholics to choose between their faith and their country. She did, however, pass laws to minimise the Catholic threat. For example, 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 (refusing to go to church) were increased to £20, a significant sum at the time.
Elizabeth's Catholic subjects were troubled that they had no legal right to attend Mass or participate in traditional Catholic rites. Many Catholics were not happy with Elizabeth's Settlement, having enjoyed religious freedom under Queen Mary. They were now being asked to change or deny their beliefs, and many left to live in exile. Others grudgingly accepted the new regime.
Despite Elizabeth's attempts at a middle way, Catholics in England were public enemy number one. Their Masses were banned and their priests were executed. Under Elizabeth I, Catholics grew adept at concealment. Their lifeblood – the Mass – was banned, so they used secret Mass kits and altar stones small enough to slip into pockets. Their priests were outlawed, so Jesuit priests entered the country in secret, hoping to convert the English population back to Catholicism. If discovered, they could be sentenced to death for treason.
Elizabeth's settlement failed to end religious disputes. While most people conformed, a minority of recusants remained loyal Catholics. Ultimately, Elizabeth's war with England's Catholics failed.
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Frequently asked questions
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was the religious and political arrangement made for England during Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1558-1603). The settlement, implemented from 1559 to 1563, marked the end of the English Reformation and shaped the Church of England's doctrine and liturgy, forming the basis for Anglicanism. Elizabeth's religious views were Protestant, though "peculiarly conservative". She kept her specific religious views private, but she is known to have disliked married clergy and held Lutheran views on Eucharistic presence.
When Elizabeth became queen, one of her first decisions was to make the Church of England Protestant and independent from the Pope, with services in English. In 1559, her government passed new Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, making it compulsory to acknowledge the queen as the head of the Church and to attend Church of England services. Elizabeth's half-sister, Mary I, had been Catholic and recognized the Pope's authority, so Elizabeth's decision caused tension with Catholics.
Elizabeth did not seem to be particularly anti-Catholic, as long as Catholics did not cause trouble. However, plots against her life, such as the 1569 northern rebellion, and the continuous flow of Jesuit priests into the country, led to Catholics being seen as a significant threat. An Act was passed in 1581 that made it treason to withdraw allegiance from the Queen or her Church, and many priests were executed for treason.
