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Elizabethan Religious Settlement
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was the religious and political arrangements made for England during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The settlement, implemented from 1559 to 1563, marked the end of the English Reformation. It permanently shaped the Church of England's doctrine and liturgy, laying the foundation for the unique identity of Anglicanism.
When Elizabeth inherited the throne, England was bitterly divided between Catholics and Protestants as a result of various religious changes initiated by Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church and the authority of the Pope, becoming the supreme head of the Church of England. During Edward's reign, the Church of England adopted a Reformed theology and liturgy. In Mary's reign, these religious policies were reversed, England was re-united with the Catholic Church and Protestantism was suppressed.
The Elizabethan Settlement was an attempt to end this religious turmoil. The Act of Supremacy of 1558 re-established the Church of England's independence from Rome. Parliament conferred on Elizabeth the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity 1558 re-introduced the Book of Common Prayer, which contained the liturgical services of the church. Some modifications were made to appeal to Catholics and Lutherans, including giving individuals greater latitude concerning belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and permission to use traditional priestly vestments. In 1571, the Convocations of Canterbury and York adopted the Thirty-Nine Articles as a confessional statement for the church, and a Book of Homilies was issued outlining the church's reformed theology in greater detail.
The settlement failed to end religious disputes. While most people conformed, a minority of recusants remained loyal Catholics. Within the Church of England, a Calvinist consensus developed among leading churchmen. Calvinists split between conformists and Puritans, who wanted to abolish what they considered papist abuses and replace episcopacy with a presbyterian church government. After Elizabeth's death, a high church, Arminian party gained power in the reign of Charles I and challenged the Puritans.
The English Civil War (1642–1651) and the overthrow of the monarchy allowed the Puritans to pursue their reform agenda, including dismantling the Elizabethan Settlement. The Restoration in 1660 reestablished both the monarchy and the religious settlement, but the Puritans were forced out of the Church of England. Anglicans now defined their church as a via media or middle way between the religious extremes of Catholicism and Protestantism; Arminianism and Calvinism; and high church and low church.
Elizabeth I inherited a kingdom bitterly divided over matters of religion. This division began during the reign of her father, Henry VIII. After his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, failed to produce a male heir, Henry applied to the pope for an annulment of his marriage. When his request was denied, Henry separated the Church of England from the Catholic Church and claimed that he, rather than the pope, was its supreme head on earth. Under Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward VI, the Church of England became more explicitly Protestant, projecting a "restrained" Calvinism, in the words of historian Christopher Haigh.
During Edward's reign, the Church of England preached justification by faith alone as a central teaching, in contrast to the Catholic teaching that the contrite person could cooperate with God towards their salvation by performing good works. The doctrines of purgatory, prayer for the dead and the intercession of saints were also rejected during this time. The Mass, the central act of Catholic worship, was condemned as idolatry and replaced with a Protestant communion service, a reminder of Christ's crucifixion. Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist was no longer explained by the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation; instead, the 1552 Book of Common Prayer promoted the Reformed teaching of Christ's spiritual presence. The veneration of religious images (icons, roods, statues) and relics were suppressed, and iconoclasm was sanctioned by the government.
Mary I, Elizabeth's half-sister, became queen in 1553. She reversed the religious innovations introduced by her father and brother. Under Mary's rule, England returned to the Catholic Church and recognised the pope's authority. Mary died in November 1558 without a Catholic heir, leaving the throne to the Protestant Elizabeth.
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Elizabethan Religious Settlement
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was the religious and political arrangements made for England during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The settlement, implemented from 1559 to 1563, marked the end of the English Reformation. It permanently shaped the Church of England's doctrine and liturgy, laying the foundation for the unique identity of Anglicanism.
When Elizabeth inherited the throne, England was bitterly divided between Catholics and Protestants as a result of various religious changes initiated by Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church and the authority of the Pope, becoming the supreme head of the Church of England. During Edward's reign, the Church of England adopted a Reformed theology and liturgy. In Mary's reign, these religious policies were reversed, England was re-united with the Catholic Church and Protestantism was suppressed.
The Elizabethan Settlement was an attempt to end this religious turmoil. The Act of Supremacy of 1558 re-established the Church of England's independence from Rome. Parliament conferred on Elizabeth the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity 1558 re-introduced the Book of Common Prayer, which contained the liturgical services of the church. Some modifications were made to appeal to Catholics and Lutherans, including giving individuals greater latitude concerning belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and permission to use traditional priestly vestments. In 1571, the Convocations of Canterbury and York adopted the Thirty-Nine Articles as a confessional statement for the church, and a Book of Homilies was issued outlining the church's reformed theology in greater detail.
The settlement failed to end religious disputes. While most people conformed, a minority of recusants remained loyal Catholics. Within the Church of England, a Calvinist consensus developed among leading churchmen. Calvinists split between conformists and Puritans, who wanted to abolish what they considered papist abuses and replace episcopacy with a presbyterian church government. After Elizabeth's death, a high church, Arminian party gained power in the reign of Charles I and challenged the Puritans.
The English Civil War (1642–1651) and the overthrow of the monarchy allowed the Puritans to pursue their reform agenda, including dismantling the Elizabethan Settlement. The Restoration in 1660 reestablished both the monarchy and the religious settlement, but the Puritans were forced out of the Church of England. Anglicans now defined their church as a via media or middle way between the religious extremes of Catholicism and Protestantism; Arminianism and Calvinism; and high church and low church.
Elizabeth I inherited a kingdom bitterly divided over matters of religion. This division began during the reign of her father, Henry VIII. After his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, failed to produce a male heir, Henry applied to the pope for an annulment of his marriage. When his request was denied, Henry separated the Church of England from the Catholic Church and claimed that he, rather than the pope, was its supreme head on earth. Under Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward VI, the Church of England became more explicitly Protestant, projecting a "restrained" Calvinism, in the words of historian Christopher Haigh.
During Edward's reign, the Church of England preached justification by faith alone as a central teaching, in contrast to the Catholic teaching that the contrite person could cooperate with God towards their salvation by performing good works. The doctrines of purgatory, prayer for the dead and the intercession of saints were also rejected during this time. The Mass, the central act of Catholic worship, was condemned as idolatry and replaced with a Protestant communion service, a reminder of Christ's crucifixion. Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist was no longer explained by the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation; instead, the 1552 Book of Common Prayer promoted the Reformed teaching of Christ's spiritual presence. The veneration of religious images (icons, roods, statues) and relics were suppressed, and iconoclasm was sanctioned by the government.
Mary I, Elizabeth's half-sister, became queen in 1553. She reversed the religious innovations introduced by her father and brother. Under Mary's rule, England returned to the Catholic Church and recognised the pope's authority. Mary died in November 1558 without a Catholic heir, leaving the throne to the Protestant Elizabeth.