What laws did Elizabeth make against Catholics?

She was tortured and killed for sheltering Priests. Recusancy Act 1587: 2/3rds of the land owned by a recusant was taken away. Even wealthy Catholics were now forced into debt. Act Restraining Recusants 1593: Catholics were forced to stay within 5 miles of their homes and banned from large gatherings.

What two new laws were passed against Catholics in 1581?

In 1581 Parliament passed a new law against Catholics. Recusants (those who refused to attend church) had to pay a bigger fine of £20 per month and those who tried to encourage people to become Catholic could be accused of treason.

How did Queen Elizabeth deal with Catholics?

Her formula was simple – if the Catholics were loyal to the Queen and discreet in their worship, she would tolerate them. However, Bishops had been instructed to remove all forms of Catholic practices as witnessed in services by clergy.

How did Elizabeth respond to the Catholic threat?

It therefore can be said that whilst the Catholic threat was high during the middle years of her reign, Elizabeth dealt with it well, issuing laws and using the sources she had, such as one of her advisors Walsingham working around the country helping to diminish the threat.

Did Queen Elizabeth tolerate Catholics?

Elizabeth's religious views were remarkably tolerant for the age in which she lived. While she had her own beliefs and convictions, she also believed in tolerating the views of others, and sincerely believed that Catholics and Protestants were basically of the same faith.

Early Elizabethan England 1558-1588: Threats to Elizabeth's Religious Settlement

How many Catholics were killed by Queen Elizabeth I?

During the long reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558–1603), 189 men and women were put to death for their Roman Catholic faith, or (as the regime would have it) for its treasonable implications.

What changes did Elizabeth make to religion?

The Act of Uniformity of 1559 set out the groundwork for the Elizabethan church. It restored the 1552 version of the English Prayer Book but kept many of the familiar old practices and allowed for two interpretations of communion, one Catholic and one Protestant.

Why was Elizabeth excommunicated from the Catholic Church?

In February 1570, Pope Pius V declared that Elizabeth was a heretic and, as such, she was excommunicated by way of a Papal Bull (order). The Bull released Catholics from any loyalty to Elizabeth and called upon them to remove her from the throne.

Was Catholicism illegal in England?

The Catholic Mass became illegal in England in 1559, under Queen Elizabeth I's Act of Uniformity. Thereafter Catholic observance became a furtive and dangerous affair, with heavy penalties levied on those, known as recusants, who refused to attend Anglican church services.

What was the act against Priests?

The Act against Priests was also passed in 1585 and allowed the death penalty for anyone shielding Catholic priests. The Act Restraining Recusants passed in 1593 meant land could be taken off those who had not paid fines.

What did the 1585 Act against Jesuits and seminary priests do?

Laws against Catholics:

1585: The Act against Seminary Priests and Jesuits made it treason to be a Catholic priest; they could be executed. 1593: The Statute of Confinement meant that Catholics could not travel more than 5 miles from their home without permission.

What was the Elizabethan compromise?

The queen had compromised a little on the wording of the Supremacy Act, calling herself the 'Supreme Governor' of the Church instead of the 'Supreme Head', thus making her more acceptable to Protestants who disliked the idea of a woman in that position.

Why did England stop being Catholic?

King Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church is one of the most far-reaching events in English history. During the Reformation, the King replaced the Pope as the Head of the Church in England, causing a bitter divide between Catholics and Protestants.

When did England stop being Catholic?

In June 1533, the heavily pregnant Anne Boleyn was crowned queen of England in a lavish ceremony. Parliament's passage of the Act of Supremacy in 1534 solidified the break from the Catholic Church and made the king the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Why were Catholics killed in England?

As in the Roman Empire in which early Christians who refused to burn incense before statues of the emperor were condemned to death for sedition, in Elizabethan England, Catholics were killed because they did not believe an act of Parliament changed what a fifteen-century-old Christian tradition told them: that the ...

What was important about the Catholic plots against Elizabeth?

Sir Anthony Babington planned to rescue Mary, Queen of Scots from jail and murder Elizabeth. Secret letters between the plotters and Mary were discovered which gave the evidence needed to prove Mary's guilt. This finally led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, Babington and six other plotters.

How did Elizabeth respond to her Excommunication?

The bull declared Queen Elizabeth excommunicated and absolved her subjects from any allegiance to her. It also excommunicated any that obeyed her orders. Its argument drew on the hierocratic theory of the papacy established by medieval canonists.

Which Pope excommunicated Elizabeth?

Abstract. In 1570 Pope Pius V issued the bull Regnans in Excelsis, which excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I, deprived her of her right to rule, and released her subjects from obedience to her.

Why was religion a challenge for Elizabeth?

As such religion was one of the problems that Elizabeth had to deal with straight away. If Elizabeth, who had been raised a Protestant, forced the Protestant faith on Catholics, her chances of remaining Queen for a long time would be threatened, as well as the stability of the country.

How successful was Elizabeth's religious policy?

She did this by overturning the Supremacy Acts that Henry VIII had created. This Act made Elizabeth the Supreme Governor of the Church of England and ensured that the Roman Catholic Church had no say over the workings and beliefs of the Church of England.

How did Elizabeth 1 bring religious peace to England?

Elizabeth I was able to bring religious peace to England because she set up the Anglican Church which allowed both Catholics and Protestants to attend. To please Protestants, they were allowed to marry and they were allowed to preach sermons in English and not Latin.

When did Catholicism become legal again in England?

Except during the reign of the Catholic James II (1685-88), Catholicism remained illegal for the next 232 years. -- Catholic worship became legal in 1791. The Emancipation Act of 1829 restored most civil rights to Catholics.

When was Catholicism made legal in England?

In 1791 another bill was passed that enabled British Catholics to practice their religion without fear of civil penalties, a measure applied on a much wider scale by the Irish Parliament with the Relief Act of 1793, which granted Irish Roman Catholics the franchise and admission to most civil offices.

When did England go back to Catholicism?

But, when Edward's half-sister, Mary, succeeded the throne in 1553, she persecuted Protestants and embraced traditional Roman Catholic ideals. After Elizabeth I took the title of Queen in 1558, however, the Church of England was revived.

What was the Catholic Challenge?

The Catholic challenge to the Settlement was in part fuelled by the position of Mary, Queen of Scots. With a legitimate Catholic heir to the throne they had reason to believe that Catholicism would return and some were inclined to plot or continue Catholic ways based on this.