To What Extent Was Religion a Difficulty For 17th Monarchs

• Religion was extremely important in the 16th and 17th centuries
• On a spiritual, social, political and national level – something that could not be left to chance.
• Monarchs swore to protect spiritual welfare of people in their coronation oath
• Monarchs burn in Hell for eternity if got it wrong and didn't protect people
• Individuals burn in Hell for eternity if got it wrong
• A monarch’s failure to deal with religious difference could result in civil war
• Before 1500 the Catholic church had the monopoly on Christian belief
• Reformation introduced choice and alternatives about religion
• Thus people had to balance their consciences against their loyalties to their country and monarch
• Protestantism introduced different beliefs and behaviours Eg Calvinist and Lutheranism
• The English Solution:

  Religion was important as an ideology. The Church was important as an institution. Religion and politics entwined because of English Reformation. England had a national church-The Church of England which was supported by tithes
• The Elizabethan Settlement:

  Act of Supremacy May 1559

  Act of Uniformity – may 1559

  Royal Injunctions July 1559

  The 39 Articles 1563-1571

  In terms of belief the Church of England based on a mixture of Lutheranism, Calvinism, Zwinglianism and Catholicism
• The Elizabethan Settlement:Settlement was Protestant but not extreme enough to alienate most Catholics. To some it had not reformed enough like the Puritans who sought a more ‘godly’ church which caused tension
• Catholicism forever associated with the Marian burning, the Spanish Inquisition and French absolutism therefore something to be feared
• Fear of Catholicism kept alive by Protestant Propaganda:The Actes and Monuments or Foxe's Book of Martyrs,Written by John Foxe in 1563. It is account of the sufferings of Protestants under the Catholic Church. It was written to warn people about the dangers of living under a Catholic regime
• Fears of Puritanism:Puritanism broke with all the traditions of the past, therefore took people outside their comfort zones but also had implications for a different social and political order.Therefore it was scary
• 16th and 17th century was a time when conformity was perceived as dangerousTherefore it was suppressedE.g. old women burnt as witches because didn’t conform to society norms
• In terms of belief the Church of England based on a mixture of Lutheranism, Calvinism, Zwinglianism and Catholicism. In terms of organisation it copies the Catholic episcopalian model. In terms of finance it was an independent national church firmly under the control of the monarch