Shakespeare and the Elizabethan/Jacobean Era

Religious Beliefs

Shakespeare and the Elizabethan/Jacobean Era

(1558 - 1625)

Differences between Catholicism and Protestantism

The Elizabethan Religious Settlement

Once Queen Elizabeth was succeeded to the throne, one of her important concerns was what form of religion would take. The parliament was summoned in 1559 to consider a reformation bill and to recreate an independent Church of England. This led to the creation of two new bills, The Act of Uniformity and The Act of Supremacy. The religious settlment had made Elizabeth Supreme Governor of the Church of England. As well as band Catholic masses.

One difference may be towards the authority of the Pope. Roman Catholics believe that the Pope is the head of the worldwide church. While the Protestants do not believe in a hierarchical structure that culminates in one individual who can speak definitively and proclaim truth without error.

Another difference between the two religions would be worship. Roman Catholics embrace mystery, hierarchy,rituals,liturgy, structures and more symbolic actions in worship. Protestants developed worship services that are plain and straightforward, focusing on scripture.

Main Religions of this Era

The main religions of this era were,

Act of Supremacy

Church of England

• Protestant: A form of christian faith and practice originated with the Protestant Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church

The act of supremacy is an act of the parliament of England passed by Queen Elizabeth I. It replaced the act of supremacy in 1534 that was made by King Henry the VIII. Which gave the monarchy power over the people. The oath of supremacy taking public or church office to swear they will follow the monarch as supreme governor of the church of England. In 1562 failure to comply became treason when supremacy of the crown act made a second offence of refusing to take the oath.

During Queen Elizabeth's reign, The Church of England was searching for a doctrinal position in relation to the Catholic Church and the continental Protestant movements.

When Queen Elizabeth became queen, The Church of England was re-established. The Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles became the standard liturgy and doctrine.

• Catholic: The Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches together form the "Catholic Church", or "Roman Catholic Church", the world's largest single religious body

In accordance with the reign of Elizabeth I it was made by law that a reformed protestant faith was the main religion for England.

Influence on Court and Everyday Life

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Elizabeth I

Act of Uniformity

This law was the act in 1558 which gave one common prayer, administrations of sacraments and service in church for all of England. These conditions were met by following the English Book of common prayer from 1552. Along with the help of parliament, Elizabeth I had brought back the protestant church of England after the ruling of her Catholic sister, Mary. Resulting in Protestantism being England's official faith.

Elizabeth was the last Tudor monarch. She was born on September 7, 1533 and daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Ann Boelyn. In November 1558 Elizabeth made it to the throne after the death of her catholic, half-sister, Queen Mary. Elizabeth was quite suitable for this position seeing she was well-educated (fluent in six languages) and inherited strong leadership-like traits from her parents (intelligence, determination and shrewdness).

The religious settlement in this era had a significant impact on the lives and court of England. Most of her subjects accepted the compromise as the basis of their faith, and her church settlement probably saved England from religious wars like those which France suffered in the second half of the 16th century. The consequences of the settlement involved the Puritan opposition in England, which were people who wanted to rid the church of its Catholic elements. Several events occurred due to this opposition which were vicious, printed attacks towards bishops, resulting in a few executions. Although Elizabeth greatly disliked Puritans, little action was taken against them until Whitgift became the Archbishop of Canterbury and introduced new legislation and making it illegal to belong to a Puritan assembly. The 1559 Religious Settlement was an honest attempt to bring as many as was possible into the fold – but it could never have satisfied the wishes of those who were at the religious extremes of society. Only one Catholic bishop took the oath to Elizabeth – all the rest refused and lost their office. However, only 4% of all lower clergy refused to take the oath to the Queen. While the clergy was allowed to marry, they were actively discouraged from doing so. An injunction was passed that stated that any member of the clergy who wanted to marry had to be questioned by his bishop and by two JP’s from his diocese. Elizabeth made it clear that she herself frowned on the clergy marrying.