Puritan Challenge to the Religious Settlement (Edexcel GCSE History)

Did the Puritans Pose a Significant Threat to Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement? - Summary

Puritans were hopeful for the succession of Elizabeth I in 1555. After the five-year reign of the Catholic Mary I, Puritans believed Elizabeth would return the Church of England to Protestantism.

During the 1560s, Puritan clergymen began breaking elements of the Religious Settlement. They thought that Elizabeth had maintained too many Catholic elements within the design and services of churches. They demanded the removal of crucifixes and vestments from their churches. Some devout Puritans argued for the abolition of organ music and holy days. Most parishioners did not want the removal of these elements of the church. More seriously, Puritans challenged the authority of the Queen as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Act of Supremacy established her power over church matters.

As the challenges originated from Puritan clergymen, Elizabeth had to consider her reaction. Elizabeth utilised a combination of compromise and punishment. This was effective in dealing with the Puritan challenge to the Religious Settlement.

The Issue of the Crucifix

• Crucifixes symbolise the Christian belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross in c.33 CE

• The inclusion of the crucifix in the Act of Uniformity caused conflict

  • Puritans considered crucifixes as idols. They believed that the worship of idols was a sin against God

  • Elizabeth liked crucifixes in churches. She also worried that radically changing the look of churches would upset English Catholics

• Puritan bishops were adamant that their churches should not have crucifixes

  • Some Puritan bishops threatened to resign if the Queen did not allow them to remove the crucifix

• Elizabeth decided to allow Puritans to remove the crucifix 

  • She was worried about losing Puritan bishops. There were not enough Protestant clergymen to replace the Puritan bishops if they decided to resign

  • This shows Elizabeth was willing to compromise on certain elements of the Religious Settlement to keep her subjects happy

The Issue of the Vestments

• Elizabeth wanted all clergymen to wear special vestments when conducting church services

  • The Royal Injunctions stated the government’s expectations on when to wear vestments

  • In 1566, the Archbishop of Canterbury wrote the ‘Book of Advertisements’

    • The book, published in 1566, gave further guidance on vestments

• Vestments were important to the Catholic faith

  • Catholic clergymen felt it appropriate to wear vestments as it symbolised how special they were. Catholic clergymen believed that they were able to perform miracles such as:

    • Turning the bread and wine in Mass into the body and blood of Christ

    • Forgiving sins in Confession

• Wearing elaborate vestments posed an issue with Puritan clergymen

  • Some believed that priests should not wear any different clothing to their congregation

  • Others believed the vestments should be plain and simple

• By 1565, Elizabeth became aware that Puritan clergymen were breaching the Act of Uniformity by:

  • Refusing to wear the pre-approved vestments

  • Performing Puritan versions of church services 

• To help, the Archbishop of Canterbury held an event in London. The exhibition intended to show and educate the Puritan bishops about the Church of England vestments

  • 37 of 110 did not attend the event

    • Elizabeth fired those who refused to attend

  • The majority of priests attended and later conformed to Elizabeth’s instructions by wearing the vestments

  • This highlights that Elizabeth was unwilling to compromise on parts of the Religious Settlement she felt were important

What affected how Elizabeth responded to the Puritan threat? 

• Elizabeth needed supporters of the Protestant faith behind her to ensure her Religious Settlement was successful. This motivated her to make some compromises to win over most of the Puritan clergymen

• Puritans were a minority within England. She knew that relenting to too many Puritan demands would make her vulnerable to Catholic attack

  • The threat from English Catholicism was much larger. Historians believe that most of Elizabeth’s subjects were Catholic in 1555

  • The South-East and London had the majority of England’s Puritan population

  • Within the Puritans, there were many different beliefs. This meant that the Puritans were not a united group

• She calculated that the Puritans would not create a plot to overthrow her

  • The Puritans did not have an alternative monarch or the help of a foreign country to depose her. They preferred Elizabeth to Mary, Queen of Scots

  • The Catholics had the support of the Pope and other Catholic countries like Spain. Many English Catholics believed that Mary, Queen of Scots was the legitimate heir to the throne. As Catholics had an alternative monarch and foreign support, she needed to make more concessions to the Catholics than to the Puritans