Religion and Foreign Policy at the start of Elizabeth I's reign, part 3

First let me explain that the theme of religion and Foreign Policy is one which affects the whole of Elizabeth I's reign and not just the first few years. Therefore it is a theme I may well return to to illustrate episodes and issues from later in her reign.

When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558 she had to deal with a precarious foreign policy issue and try to end the war with France. She also had to deal with religious expectations. Elizabeth was welcomed by many protestants as a saviour and yet the country was still Catholic in many areas and the clerical and lay hierarchy were strongly Catholic. In addition to this there was much foreign interest in which way she would proceed religionwise. We can also throw into the mix Elizabeth's own religious views. We do not have any firm evidence of them but we do know that she was raised and educated as a protestant. Her tutor was Matthew Parker, a protestant whom she was to appoint as her first Archbishop of Canterbury. Her childhood may well have led her to see Rome as a barrier to her legitimacy (the break with Rome had come about in order to allow her father to marry her mother). Other evidence, such as the 1561 New year's gift incident also suggest that she was a moderate protestant in her beliefs.

So in religious terms Elizabeth is faced with a tough decision at the very start of her reign. Essentially she has three options:

1. Keep Catholicism
2. Return to the Henrician model of church and worship
3. Move to a moderate protestantism

Each option had its pros and cons. So lets look at each in turn (in school I would want to present these in a tabular format but I cannot get the Blog software to allow it)

Keep Catholicism

Pros

• It would keep Spain friendly
• Philip II was a possible suitor for marriage to Elizabeth at this point

Cons

• Elizabeth prefers protestant worship personally
• She has many protestant supporters
• The protestant Martyrs of Mary's reign have lead to a view by some that Submission to Rome means submission to Spain means Martyrdom

Return to the Henrician model of church and worship

Pros

• Most people seem comfortable with a non-Roman Catholicism

Cons

• Times have changed and moving back to Henrician worship would prove difficult
• Henrician church and worship are not easy to define as Henry himself changed them to suit his mood and politics

Move to a moderate Protestantism

Pros

• Short term this would be good politically as she has much protestant support
• Suits her own religious preferences
• Moderate protestantism with a system of church governance through Bishops would allow her to keep control of the church through the Bishops.

Cons

• A move to protestantism might risk a move to more radical protestantism - Calvinism
• This might lead to local unrest ( the reforms of Edward's reign had resulted in much resentment and unrest)
• Calvinism would lead to a loss of control of the church
• Most people were essentially conservative in their religion
• A move to protestantism would make an enemy of France and Spain and perhaps bring on the Catholic Grand Alliance

This was complicated by the fact that a sudden change in religion would require the support of Parliament and therefore the support of the Catholic Marian Bishops in the House of Lords.

Essentially Elizabeth opted for option 3. But she had to play a middle game. She sent mixed signals. To the Protestants she showed she was a protestant, for instance by forbidding the elevation of the host during mass. To Catholics she declared she would restore the form of worship of the latter years of Henry VIII's reign, which was essentially Catholic. She had to balance all of this against the precarious international situation:

• She was still at war with France and Scotland, though trying to negotiate peace
• Mary Stuart was in France claiming to be the rightful Catholic heir to the English throne
• She wanted to regain Calais
• She needed to keep Spain on her side as a balance against France.

That Elizabeth was able to secure the religious settlement in 1559 whilst ending the war with France and keeping Spain on relatively friendly terms is quite remarkable. As the international situation shifted during 1559 she was able to mold her tactics accordingly. When the war with France was formally concluded Elizabeth was able to act against the Catholic Marian Bishops in the Lords with more force. A disputation (debate) was called between Catholics and Protestants at which the Protestant verbal attacks were so violent the Catholics withdrew from parliament. At this point, outside the protection of parliament, Elizabeth had 3 of them arrested for disobedience to her. This reduced the Catholic majority and overawed many of the rest. She added to this a bill to transfer the first fruits and tenths (taxes from the church) from the Pope to the crown. This appealed to the lay lords who were happy to see crown revenues rise if it meant they didn't pay any extra.

Ultimately the parliament of 1559 passed the acts of Supremacy and Uniformity. These established the Elizabethan Church of England largely as a moderately protestant church which could demonstrate it had not travelled very far from Catholicism. The Church retained and episcopalian structure and hierarchy and reflected Elizabeth's moderate protestant preferences. In this way it also appealed to the widest possible range of Elizabeth's subjects and reduced the risk of civil unrest. That Elizabeth saw this as the end of the matter and her protestant bishops did not is a matter for another blog, perhaps.