Religion

• Elizabeth's attitude towards Catholics


  Relatively tolerant at the beginning of her reign, but 'conditional on obedience' - Catholics had to obey the Queen or she would not tolerate her religion
• Act of Supremacy 1559


  1. Laid down fines for those who refused to attend church

  2. Those fined were known as recusants
• Catholic imagery and Mystery Plays both ceased to exist
• Church papists


  Attended Anglican services, but kept their Catholic beliefs
• Some Catholic Bishops still practiced (some had fled) - some hid in noble's houses, conducting private services
• The 1569 Northern Rebellion and the 1570 Papal Bull


  Put pressure on English Catholics
• 1571, Act of publishing Papal Bulls


  Treason
• 1581, Act of withdrawing allegiance


  Illegal - fine for recusancy increased - £20 PCM
• 4 Catholic priests were executed in 1581, and 11 were in 1582
• 1585 Acts against Jesuits etc…


  1. Illegal for Catholic priests trained overseas to enter England to convert people to Catholicism

  2. 123 priests executed as a result
• Recusancy laws tightened


  £20 PCM, if you failed to pay, 2/3 of your estate was forfeit
• Persecution of recusants at its height from 1588-1592 due to worsening relations with Spain and heightened fear of invasion and potential for Catholic Rebellion
• 'Bond of Association for the Preservation of the Queen's Majesty Royal Person'
• Catholic Missions

  2 missions set up separately to one another, with the goal of getting more Catholic Priests into England and spreading Catholicism
• William Allen Seminary in Douai, Netherlands, set up in 1568


  In 1571, 11 priests in England, then 179 between 1580-85
• Society of Jesus (Jesuits)


  Sent priests in 1580, highly intelligent and dedicated to re-catholicise England
• Just being a Catholic priest in England from 1585 was enough to incur the death penalty
• Catholicism was a 'Country House religion' - priests became households chaplains to the nobles and did not spread the message to the ordinary people… this would be too dangerous
• These priests were also 'lazy'/shortsighted… they remained mostly in the SE (had the smallest number of catholics…). The NE and N had the largest Catholic population, would have been more effective
• By the end of Elizabeth's reign England had transformed religiously
• Catholicism survived essentially as the country house religion of a small minority
• The Church of England had become much more assured and confident, commanding the support or acceptance of most people