The Catholic challenge at home

• The Catholic Church’s attempt to reverse the Protestant Reformation in Europe and stop its spread was known as the Counter Reformation. Protestants in Europe were charged with heresy
• In 1566, the pope issued an instruction to English Catholics to not attend Church of England services.
• Recusants were people who practiced Catholicism in secret. One third of english nobility were recusants, however Elizabeth tolerated them as she did not want to create martyrs
• Catholic nobility tended to be from traditional and powerful families that had prospered under Mary Tudor, such as the Nevilles and the Percys. They resented their loss of influence under Elizabeth and disliked the growing influence of her favourites, such as Sir William Cecil and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who they saw as Protestant upstarts.
• Catholic families which were powerful under Mary, such as the Nevilles, lost their independence from the crown