For this question, key factors will need to be analysed in order to form a correct conclusion on Elizabeth 1's reasons for pursuing a religious settlement, such as England's religious turbulence or relations with powerful European countries. Beliefs in Elizabeth society on religion and gender roles will also need to be analysed when answering this question. Firstly, the religious turbulence that had plagued England for over twenty years greatly impacted Elizabeth's decision. England was a catholic country with the head of the church being the Pope. This continued until Henry VIII, so desperate to produce a male heir, broke Papal control over England and named himself Head of the Church that taught an offshoot of Christianity based on the teachings of Martin Luther, the Protestant Church of England.
Before 1603 Scotland and England were separate countries and this was the first time a kind of England had been king of Scotland as well, this didn’t make them one country but James was determined on a union. When James became King, there was a crisis of raised hopes and expectations by those groups who wanted a change to the Elizabethan Settlement, the Protestants (Puritans) and the Catholics. Catholics had hoped for relief from the increasingly harsh anti-Catholic penal laws that had been progressively introduced during Elizabeth’s reign. These penal laws were where that everyone had to attend Anglican Church on Sundays, it was illegal for Catholics not to abide by this law and where charged with heavy fines if they failed to do so. Puritans wanted further reform of the Anglican Church, specifically a move towards a more Protestant Church.
Was there really a threat to the Elizabethan regime from the Puritans? In 1559, Elizabeth created a religious settlement, which was mainly Protestant, but included many Catholic teachings. In theory, the settlement would end religious controversy and unite the people of the country. However, in practice, this didn't happen, as there was opposition to the settlement, from both Catholics and Puritans. Puritans were extreme Protestants who believed that Elizabeth's religious settlement was not enough – they believed that the Anglican church was still too much like the Roman Catholic Church.
In many ways, Elizabeth’s settlement took the via media between the conservative and reformist religious camps, yet the majority of the country was still Catholic. Thus, Elizabeth had made a compromised Protestant settlement in a country where a compromised Catholic settlement would have been more apt. Although she was able to placate some Catholics in the short term with conservative concessions, in time many Catholics became more conservative minded and resented the settlement which alienated them. This would have drastic political and social repercussions throughout her reign – for example, the threat of rebellion, the influence in parliament from the House of Lords, and the influence of Seminary priests and Jesuits to come. When looking at the resilience of Roman Catholicism, and the growing discontent amongst Conservatives, it is clear that Catholicism was to be, at the very least, as much of a threat as Puritanism – and given that there were more Catholics than Puritans, this threat was likely to be the most serious religious threat to Elizabeth, her country and her settlement in her entire reign.
Edward was raised as a Protestant by those closest to him, including his step-mother Catherine Parr and his tutor Sir Richard Coxe, whom he was delighted in surrounding himself with those whose views, he shared. Edward’s devotion to Protestantism can be seen through his efforts to force his sister Mary to submit to the new religion, but was greatly frustrated when she wished to maintain her Catholic practices. Thus it is safe to argue that Edward’s ‘personal’ religious beliefs contributed to the full-scale introduction of Protestantism that followed his reign. However, aside from Edward’s personal religious beliefs, he was dominated by his father’s radical Protestant ministers who used the Regency to strengthen their own position. With the king still a minor- and with the authority of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset as Lord Protector, the control of religious affairs had passed to Parliament.
As the people watched the church decay morally through the Renaissance they became more and more worried about what this meant for them in the afterlife. Thus the Reformation was a direct result of a buildup of social, economic, religious, and political problems that manifested itself into a general animosity towards the Catholic Church. The most important figure of the Reformation is without a doubt Martin Luther. Luther created the rally cry that thousands across Europe answered by criticizing the Catholic Churches practices and carrying on the work of other Christian Humanists like Erasmus. We see an example of one of Luther’s critical writings in Document 8.
I believe that religious persecution was the principle reason for their voyage but also feel that their discontent with the English government played a key role in their leaving as well. In sixteenth century England there were people who wanted to see reform in English religion, society, and politics. They strove to do this by restricting church membership to the pious and godly and also by wanting the state to enforce non-bending moral codes. 1 These people were called Puritans. Those who made up the Puritan group were either Presbyterians or Congregationalists.
The emergence of Wishart’s protégé John Knox in the pre-reformation years further illustrate the Catholic faith’s need for reform following centuries of hypocrisy, immoral behaviour, abuses of power and nepotism and this is clearly shown by the text from Hamilton. A staunch supporter of the monarch, Archbishop Hamilton saw the predicament facing his Queen on her return with the political and religious forums beginning to incorporate Protestantism and with its influence spreading further through society, he possibly viewed this as an opportunity to get back to basics, to stem the flow and to return his flock to pious deeds under the Catholic strand of Christianity. Another possible reason for this text may lie in the Regency of Mary of Guise and the increasing French influence once again in the Scottish Royal Court coupled with Cardinal Beaton’s overzealous hunting of heretics in the years prior to his murder creating definite anti-French, anti-Catholic feeling
Other leaders likewise had a prominent role in heightening the threat for example, the Duke of Suffolk as mentioned again in Source 3, who was determined to depose Mary in order to make way for his daughter Jane Grey, however, he was ineffective in rallying support in Leicester and thus his threat to Mary was very much limited. Sir James Croft (also referred to in Source 3) was in control of raising rebels in Herefordshire. He played a significant role in introducing the Protestant liturgy in Ireland and thus, as Mary was a Catholic Queen, Croft was able to rally support through Protestant
The question I am going to be answering is: ‘Why were England and Spain enemies for so long during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?’ To answer this question we need to look at all the evidence available. During the reign of Henry VIII, he decided to break away from the Catholic Church, turning his country into a protestant religion. However this did not impress the Pope and Spain as they thought that every country should be a Catholic country. Both countries were ruling most of the world, the Spanish empire in South America as an example. They were constantly disputing about who had to the Caribbean.