8-2Religion

What role did religion play in Elizabethan England? What conflicts did religion cause? //Answer prepared by Andrew K.// For all of British History before the 1600s, the Catholic Church had dominated society. In fact, according to the Bruce Robinson, in The Human Reformation, “the [Catholic] Church was the institution that bound communities together (1).” This all changed when Henry VIII ascended to the British throne. In Germany, the Reformation, led by Martin Luther, was taking place and Protestantism became the primary religion of England. Henry created the Church of England, which became the current Episcopalian Church. BBC states that monasteries and nunneries were disbanded and altars and pilgrimages were torn down. The populous generally shifted toward Protestantism. His successor, Queen Mary, reversed this process and restored Catholicism to the state religion. Although Protestantism was the official religion of England during the reign of Elizabeth I, she felt strongly in the belief that people should be free to practice any religion. Obviously, Parliament didn’t agree, because Shakespeare’s England by Ronald Bayne states that about 180 Catholics suffered death under the penal laws passed by Parliament (51). This was still a marked improvement over Henry, who vehemently persecuted Catholics, many of whom ended up in the Tower of London or six feet under. Despite this, Elizabeth was still excommunicated by the Pope. Disagreement on religion led to some armed conflict. According to Linda Alchin on Elizabethan-Era.Org, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and conflict with Spain was partly due to the fact that Spain was a Catholic country. The website also explains that a rebellion led by the Irish Catholic Earl of Tyrone started a series of revolts by the Catholic Irish for control of Ireland. Differences in religious policy between monarchs led to disorder in the Catholic Church and the Church of England.

The two primary religions of England still remained Catholicism and Protestantism. Ms. Alchin described that despite the many differences that existed between the two churches, the doctrine was still the same. Catholic services were said in Latin, as they had been for the last 1000 years and Protestant services were said in English, the language of the people. Elizabethan Catholics believed priests were a link between God and the people and therefore were to remain unmarried and devote their whole life to God. Elizabethan Protestants believed that people could find God without help from a priest and so ministers were ordinary people who led normal lives. Catholic priests wore elaborate robes, where as Protestant ministers wore normal clothes. Catholics believed that sins could be forgiven by priests, at the price of a donation to the Church. Protestants believed that only God could forgive sins. Catholic churches were elaborately decorated and Protestant churches had few if any decorations. In many ways, Elizabethan Catholics and Protestants were polar opposites. Works Cited Alchin, Linda. "Elizabethan War." Elizabethan Era. 20 03 2008. Accessed 09 03 2009 .

Alchin, Linda. "Religion in Elizabethan England." Elizabethan Era. 20 03 2008. Accessed Mar 2009 .

Bayne, Ronald. //Shakespeare's England//. London: Oxford University Press, 1916.

Robinson, Bruce. "The Human Reformation." British History. 01 May 2001. BBC. Accessed Mar 2009 [].



Westminster Abbey, the seat of the Church of England.