the religious settlement

• Religious divisions in england and europe in the 16th century:

  • protestants mainly found in northern europe
  • since the 1530's, many protestants fled prosecution and came to england
  • some protestants became puritans
  • the north of england remained mostly catholic
  • the reformation divided the christian church into protestants and catholics
• Beliefs:

  • Catholics:
  • the pope is the head of the church, helped by cardinals, bishops and priests
  • church is the intermediary between god and the people
  • during mass, bread and wine become the actual body and blood of christ
  • 7 sacrements
  • priests are celibate
• Beliefs:

  • Protestants and puritans
  • no pope
  • personal direct relationship with god through prayer and bible, only god can forgive sins
  • bread and wine represents christ, there is no miracle
  • 2 sacraments; baptism and holy communion
  • priests can marry
• Practices and support:

  • Catholics:
  • services in latin
  • priests wear vestments
  • churches highly decorated
  • majority in north and west england
• Practices and support:

  • Protestants and puritans:
  • services in english
  • priests where simple vestments
  • churches are simple
  • mainly found in the south east
• Act of Uniformity - 1559

  • dictated the appearance of churches and how religious services were held
  • everyone was required to attend church
• Act of Supremacy - 1559

  • elizabeth became supreme governor of the church of england
  • all clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her
• Book of Common Prayer - 1559

  • introduced a set church service to be used in all churches
  • clergy had to follow it or they would be punished
• Aims of the religious settlement:

  • it aimed to include as many of her subjects as possible
  • she did this by making the book of common prayer have alternative meanings
• Impact of the religious settlement:

  • 8000 of 10000 clergy accepted the settlement
  • the majority of ordinary people accepted elizabeths religious settlement and attended the services, even though many held catholic beliefs
• Role of the Chuch:

  • preached the governments message, as an official license was required to preach
  • provided guidance for communities
  • responsible for the church courts
  • enforced the religious settlement
  • legitimised elizabeths rule by encouraging people to stay loyal
• Role of parish clergy in village life:

  • In all parishes the clergyman was a major figure in the village community and conducted church services including baptisms and weddings
  • The clergy offered spiritual and practical advice and guidance to people, especially when times were difficult (such as during a poor harvest)
  • The clergy were funded by taxes or tithes, or by the gentry
• Role of parish clergy in town life:

  • due to overcrowding, parish clergy had more issues in towns, which included poverty, vagrancy and diseases
  • some parishes were very wealthy, some were very poor