2.2.3

Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

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The Catholic Threat

After the first decade of Elizabeth’s reign, Catholicism became more of a threat. Much of this was tied up with the changing international situation.

Elizabeth I's early tolerance

Elizabeth I's early tolerance

  • Despite parliament passing stricter laws against Catholics in 1563, Elizabeth I saw to it that they weren’t fully implemented. These laws included:
    • Failure of office holders to take the oath of supremacy a second time was now punishable by death.
    • The penalty for saying mass was now death.
  • Private masses, especially in gentry and noble households, were ignored as long those people also attended the Church of England.
The Catholic threat in the 1560s

The Catholic threat in the 1560s

  • Spain was persecuting Dutch Protestants. Alba had a large army in the Netherlands and Philip II aimed to stamp out heresy.
  • Mary, Queen of Scots came to England (1568). She was the focus of several plots to overthrow Elizabeth I.
  • William Allen founded the Douai seminary (1568) for Catholic Englishmen to become priests who would return to England. They would first arrive in 1574.
  • The Pope excommunicated (excluded from the Catholic Church) Elizabeth I in 1570. This meant Catholics were free to disobey her.
The Catholic threat in the 1570s

The Catholic threat in the 1570s

  • A new Treason Act in 1571 made denying Elizabeth I’s supremacy and bringing in copies of the papal bull excommunicating, acts of high treason.
  • Elizabeth I blocked attempts to increase the punishments for recusancy (Catholics refusing to attend Church of England services).
  • By the late 1570s worsening Anglo-Spanish relations and continued plotting around Mary, Queen of Scots heightened fear of Catholics in England.
  • Jesuit priests began arriving in England in 1580. They were seen as more fanatical and threatening.
The Catholic threat in the 1580s

The Catholic threat in the 1580s

  • Surveillance and arrests of English Catholics also increased after the Throckmorton (1583) and Babington (1586) plots.
  • In 1581 the first Jesuits were executed.
  • A new law increased fines for recusancy to £20, impossible for ordinary people to afford.
  • In 1585 parliament passed an act which gave Catholic priests 40 days to leave England or be executed.
  • Overall nearly 150 Catholic priests were executed under Elizabeth I, although most were simply imprisoned in a specially built gaol.
The Catholic threat in the 1590s

The Catholic threat in the 1590s

  • Mass was still held in secret, mainly for the gentry.
  • Douai priests were reluctant to support Philip II, unlike the Jesuits. They said Philip II’s agenda was not simply religious.
  • Catholicism was dying out among the ordinary people. The war against Spain helped this process. People’s instinct was to support England and Elizabeth I.
  • By 1603 Catholicism in England is estimated to have been at 10% with perhaps only 2% actively worshipping.
Jump to other topics
1

Monarch & Government

1.1

Tudor Monarchs

1.1.1Henry VII1.1.2Henry VIII1.1.3Edward VI1.1.4Mary I1.1.5Elizabeth I1.1.6Succession Disputes
1.2

Changing Role of Parliament

1.2.1Parliament & Henry VII1.2.2Parliament & Henry VIII1.2.3Parliament After the Reformation
1.3

Principal Servants to the Crown

1.3.1Principal Servants to the Crown
2

Religious Changes

2.1

Tudor Monarchs & Religious Change

2.1.1The Henrician Reformation2.1.2Impact of Religious Change Under Henry VIII2.1.3Religious Change Under Edward VI2.1.4Religious Change Under Mary I2.1.5Elizabethan Settlement
2.2

Catholicism & Survival

2.2.1Popular Attitudes to Catholicism2.2.2Catholicism Under Henry VIII2.2.3Catholicism Under Elizabeth I2.2.4Catholic Nobility
2.3

Protestantism & Puritanism

2.3.1Protestant Influences2.3.2Protestantism Under Edward VI2.3.3Protestantism Under Elizabeth I
3

State Control & Popular Resistance

3.1

Tudor Control of the Country

3.1.1Councils3.1.2Role of Nobility3.1.3Justices of the Peace3.1.4Lord Lieutenant
3.2

The State & the Poor

3.2.1Reasons for Growth of Poverty3.2.2Punishments for Paupers3.2.3Role of Charities
3.3

Resistance to Tudor Rule

3.3.1Resistance to Tax & Subsidies3.3.2Uprisings Against Henry VIII3.3.3Uprisings Against Edward VI3.3.4Uprisings Against Elizabeth I3.3.5Decline of Popular Resistance
4

Economic, Social & Cultural Change

4.1

Patterns of Domestic & Foreign Trade

4.1.1Wool & Cloth4.1.2Exploration & Trade
4.2

Changing Structure of Society

4.2.1Population4.2.2Dissolution of Monasteries4.2.3Enclosure
4.3

Cultural Change

4.3.1Education & Literature4.3.2Impact of Religious Change4.3.3Patronage4.3.4The Arts4.3.5Cult of Gloriana
5

Historical Interpretations

5.1

Significance of Threats to National Security

5.1.1Spain5.1.2The Spanish Armada5.1.3Ireland
5.2

Court Politics

5.2.1Court Factions5.2.2Essex's Rebellion
5.3

Elizabeth & Parliament

5.3.1Conflict with Parliament
5.4

Social Distress in the 1590s

5.4.1Social Distress in the 1590s

Practice questions on Catholicism Under Elizabeth I

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Despite parliament passing stricter laws against Catholics in 1563, what did Elizabeth not want to do?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Catholic Threats to Elizabeth I in the 1560sPut in order
  3. 3
    Catholic Threats to Elizabeth I in the 1570s:Fill in the list
  4. 4
    Catholic Threats to Elizabeth I in the 1580s:True / false
  5. 5
    Catholic Threats to Elizabeth I in the 1590s:Fill in the list
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