Enforcing the Religious Settlement (Edexcel GCSE History)

The Public Reaction & Government Enforcement of the Religious Settlement - Summary

From its creation, the Religious Settlement faced opposition. Elizabeth called a meeting of Parliament in February 1559 to pass the Act. She had hoped the process of gaining parliamentary approval would be quick and easy. Catholic bishops in the House of Lords refused to pass an act which established Protestantism. Elizabeth’s response demonstrates both the reactive and reforming aspects of her ruling style. The reactive response was to arrest two Catholic bishops so the Religious Settlement would face less objection from the House of Lords. The reforming response was to adapt the wording of the bill to make more concessions to the Catholics. Both approaches allowed the Act to pass into law in 1559.

Historians agree that Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement was largely successful in its aims. The majority of England accepted the necessity of the Act to bring peace to England. They saw that Elizabeth had included aspects of Catholicism and Protestantism to find a compromise between the two religions. Elizabeth again used reaction and reform to ensure the Act was implemented across England. She used the Church of England to punish any breaches of the Religious Settlement. At the same time, she encouraged loyalty to the Church by reminding people that God had chosen her to rule England. These reactive and reforming approaches increased the level of acceptance of the Religious Settlement.

Reactions to the Settlement - The Clergy

• The Act of Supremacy forced the clergy to make an oath to Elizabeth. They promised to follow her Religious Settlement

  • If a member of the clergy refused, they would lose their job

• 8,000 clergy agreed to take the oath 

  • There were approximately 10,000 parishes in England at the time

  • A large proportion of the clergy therefore accepted the Act of Supremacy

• There was much less acceptance of the Act of Supremacy from bishops

  • Elizabeth appointed 27 new bishops because all but one of Mary's bishops refused to take the oath

  • Elizabeth could establish a Protestant hierarchy in the Church of England

  • If Elizabeth maintained the support of the bishops, her position as queen would be more secure

Reactions to the Settlement - The People

• Many aspects of the Religious Settlement helped the majority of Elizabeth's subjects to accept the new Church

  • The wording of the prayer book meant that both Protestants and Catholics could interpret it differently based on their beliefs

  • The churches contained many elements familiar to Catholics

  • There were compromises on key issues such as Mass and vestments

• Parishes implemented the changes at different rates

  • The North was slower to enact the Religious Settlement 

    • Lancashire, Cumberland, Yorkshire and Westmorland had a high number of recusants. Rich Catholics paid the one-shilling fine to avoid attending church

    • Elizabeth allowed them to convert to the Church of England at their own pace. She feared a rebellion if she aggressively imposed the Religious Settlement

  • The Religious Settlement was upheld in the South

    • In London, there were instances of iconoclasm. Elizabeth did not condone this behaviour

The Church of England

• The Church of England played a key role in enforcing the Religious Settlement across England

  • The Church court prosecuted people who refused to follow the Religious Settlement

  • The Church of England conducted visitations to ensure that:

    • The clergy had taken the oath of supremacy

    • The church services followed the terms of the Religious Settlement

  • In 1559, the first visitation resulted in 400 clergy losing their jobs for breaching the Religious Settlement

    • Some officials who conducted visitations destroyed a vast amount of decoration in churches. This was against Elizabeth's wishes

    • Visitations were conducted every three to four years

    • The visitations monitored teachers, midwives, surgeons and physicians as well as the clergy. They all required licenses to practice