Religion In The Elizabethan Era

Religious conflict in england, King Henry the VIII broke with the roman catholic church in the 1530’s, created the English protestant reformation.

The main dominations of most of the colonies of New England in 1680 to 1760 were Anglicanism and Congregationalism. However, new church movements were created such as Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and much more. These religions were sometimes called “Dissenters” because they were descendants of Protestantism. There were very many complications within Christianity and an interesting one happened in Salem, Massachusetts.

It is possible to perceive that England was torn apart by religious revolution as a consequence of the public risings in the response to the changes. After their introduction, the country suffered

The Catholic Church restricted individuals on their everyday life, and Protestantism appeared to be the best choice for many. King Henry VIII also established the Anglican Church, which was strongly enforced on the Englishmen. Protestants and Catholics in this society were treated poorly. Some were even fined by the government or sent to jail. “The English nation was in a state of religious turmoil with no religion to unify its citizens [10].” [10]

The New Reformation was an era with new ideas and feud between religions. In the 1500s, England believed in brand new things. Autocrats enforced the eulogized religion. Academies taught religions authorized by autocrats. Failing to comply with the eulogized religions is punishable by confinement, laceration, and death penalty. Complying with the wrong religion has its own risks for privy treasure, laxity, and vitality. Queen Mary accepted the Catholic religion and charred the Protestants alive and victimized them. Queen Elizabeth accepted and allowed Protestantism to be a religion. Queen Elizabeth allowed people to accept the Catholic religion without being persecuted. The Catholics desired to substitute Mary and replace Queen Elizabeth. (Linda Alchins, Religion in Elizabethan England, paragraph # 3). Catholics thinks that

During the 1500s, the citizens of England were overcome with multiple transitions of religion due to their monarch. The first notable instance of religious alteration was when Henry the VIII took the throne. During his reign, he ruled the Act of Supremacy, which separated England from the Catholic Church, and so Henry VIII established the Church of England, of which he was the leader of. This individual action indirectly prompted many other spiritual changes that would take place in England during the years to come, led by his successors. Even if his ruling may have ultimately been positive, it is utterly clear that at the time, Henry VIII's reformation was motivated purely by his selfish desires for a male heir. This was very dissimilar to Martin Luther's reformation, which was led by Luther's faith and loyalty to god. Though the two men both transformed the perception of religion in Europe drastically, the advancements were made for vastly different reasons. (#8)

The Elizabethan Era was a time where everything flourished. After the Black Plague, England entered a time called the Renaissance. Family life during the time was simple and on a routine. Each day seemed more and more liked the day before. Each member of the family had a different impact on the community and society. Ordinary life in England consisted of being with family, working everyday, going to school, and eating food.

It was not only peaceful times between these two religions during Elizabeth's reign. The Church of England was attacked by both Catholics who wanted back the “pure” Catholic Church. The fear that a Catholic leader such as Mary, Queen of Scots would come to power, forced Elizabeth to make stricter rules to overcome these pressing rebellions. Art and

In 1559 Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was crowned Queen. Elizabeth sought to find a middle ground during her rein (1558-1603) in England, by allowing both Catholics and Protestants to worship without fear of any repercussions. However, Gilbert (1976) that ‘Elizabeth I and her successors had legislated to make Anglican worship compulsory’ (p. 4). By introducing the Act of Uniformity of 1559 it laid out the rules of worship that both religions were to follow and reissued the Book of Common Prayer for use in worship. The Thirty-Nine Articles of 1563 also set to define the doctrine of the Church of England which set out a middle path between the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church and the Protestants (Wolffe, 2008). By the end of Elizabeth’s I forty five year reign, the majority of people in English society were Protestant. As the older, mainly Catholic members of society had died through old age (Christianity in Britain, 2011). Knight and Mason (2006) describe a dissenter during

During the elizabethan era most were considered Catholics, however in the early 1500s the practice of roman Catholics was questioned during the reformation according to Linda Alchin. The beliefs of German, Martin Luther caused Protestantism. Martin Luther's supporters protested against the rules and regulations, which resulted in the laws that put a limit on the new ideas Martin was trying to spread (Alchin 2). The protesters decided to create there own religion and beliefs, now known as the Protestants.

Religion was so central to political and military conflict in the early modern period because religion encompassed the era due to the strongly religious cultural society. The centre of conflict deriving from the Catholic and Protestant divide, which caused conflict within politics and the military, because the opposing sides fought over religious territory and popularity. The centre of the conflict within these sectors of religion was The Reformation and the wars which followed, which created a struggle for power as different religions gained new support and thus power, and others experienced reduced power as a result. The resulting political and military turmoil created the growth of secularism, which attempted to stabilize politics and the military by increasing control. Therefore religion was so central to political and military conflict in the early modern period because the period was so strongly religious that it had more of an impact on political and military conflict than any other factor, because it was held in a higher regard than politics and the military sustained individually.

Religion experienced a lot of progress and transformation throughout the Middle Ages. Christianity held consistent popularity and other religions such as Islam were on the rise in participation. After the fall of Rome, there was no unified state or government in Europe and the Catholic Church used that opportunity to become a large powerhouse. The Roman Empire had effectively split into three different worlds: Muslim, Byzantine, and western European. Various Kings, Queens, and other leaders looked to the Catholic church for power and protection in exchange for alliances. Meanwhile, the Islamic religion was growing in wealth, power, and people. With the prophet Muhammad’s death in 632, Muslim groups took under large parts of land and united them under a single caliph. The Byzantines were still operating from Constantinople, just under a smaller rule and rural life assumed greater importance in the backbone of their society. Religion was largely involved in the Middle Ages’ art and architecture. Massive Cathedrals were built and even books were a work of art before the invention of the printing press. In addition, their economy was directly affected by religious activity such as missions and conquests. Overall, the general trends marking the progress religion in the Middle Ages are inclusion of everyone, a building of a community, and the opportunity of becoming equals with other practitioners.

People in the middle ages were very religious. People believed that Roman Catholic Church represent God. The church had a big influence on the content spread in the Middle Ages, and they were content with religious or moralistic. The only religion recognized in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and specifically Catholicism. Christianity in the middle ages dominated the lives. The life of the medieval people was dominated entirely by the church and many religious institutions gained power and wealth. It was single the larges institution in west of Europe. It touched everyone’s life no matter what rank in social class they lived in. Everyone in western Europe was Rome Catholic Christian at that time. From the reaches king all the way down.

Over the years, society has created and recreated different ideas of what is considered socially acceptable and what customs to follow on a daily basis. These ideas are constantly changing and renewing themselves, making even last year’s behavioral habits seem crude. For instance, life in Elizabethan England contrasted with how life is now because people acted differently, dressed differently, spoke differently, and in a general, broader sense, they lived differently. Because people grow and change and learn from their previous mistakes, Elizabethan customs are practically obsolete due to their lack of effectiveness or rather the lack of need for them to continue.

Queen Elizabeth had to be harsh and strict with Catholics, more than she would have preferred in order to maintain peace in England (Elizabeth R). Although Queen Elizabeth was nice, she could also be very strict. When Catholics rebelled she reacted quickly, she had them killed, took away their properties, or imprisoned them. After years of rebellion and fighting, England became a Protestant Country in the early 1600’s (Pitchard 103). “The significance of the Elizabethan religious settlement is that it was able to hold the vast majority of the people together, despite being a compromise few would have chosen” (Elizabeth I).