What religeon was Queen Elizabeth 1?
When Elizabeth assumed her position as Queen of England, the
country was in turmoil. A bitter disharmony between Catholics and
Protestants had created a religious divide that was tearing apart
the nation. Queen Elizabeth's first order of business as new
monarch was to bring an end to the religious strife. Unlike her
siblings, the fanatically Catholic Mary and the extreme Protestant
Edward, Elizabeth was extraordinarily tolerant and sought to bring
a middle ground to the Church. The task would not be easy, as many
did not share her views on religious toleration. On Edward's
accession England had become a Protestant state under Cranmer's
English Prayer Book. Later, Mary re-established Catholicism and
brought papal obedience back to England. This naturally created a
deep religious divide and strong dissension between Catholics and
Protestants. Elizabeth wanted to heal the division that was so
deeply hurting the nation and a compromise was a natural
progression towards unity. In 1559, under the Acts of Supremacy and
Uniformity and upheld by the New Prayer Book, Elizabeth's Church of
England was established. All spiritual needs were met under the
reforms, except the extreme left wings of Catholicism and
Protestantism, whose beliefs were outrageous in the eyes of the
Queen. With the Act of Supremacy papal authority was abolished,
defining Elizabeth as Supreme Governor of the Church. The Act of
Uniformity required that all citizens worship on a regular basis
according to the rites and ideologies of an open prayer book. There
were heavy fines for those who did not attend. Elizabeth ensured
that in the new Church, services were performed in a language that
people understood and whose doctrine was based on the principles of
Western Christianity. She sought to create a popular place of
worship that would eventually be accepted by all. In December of
1559, Matthew Parker was sanctified as the first Archbishop of
Canterbury of the new Elizabethan church. Unfortunately, there were
times in Elizabeth's reign when she was forced to take a stronger
pro-Protestant position. With the establishment of the Church of
England, Elizabeth was viewed at home and abroad as a Protestant
ruler. Although she did not face considerable problems earlier in
her reign, when Mary Queen of Scots, a devout Catholic and claimant
to the English throne, arrived in England in 1568 Catholic
dissention quickly broke out. Countless plots to overthrow
Elizabeth and seat Mary were schemed. Mary was eventually executed
for her involvement in the conspiracies in 1587. The death of a
Catholic monarch outraged Catholics abroad, which led to the
persecution of European Protestants. Elizabeth entered into war
with France in 1572 after the mass killing of thousands of
Protestants and aided factions in Scotland and Belgium when radical
Catholic groups emerged. The death of Mary would also play a part
in King Phillip II of Spain sending the Spanish Armada to attack
England.