Answer: The established religion under Elizabeth was Protestant, so the English did not acknowledge the authority of the Pope in Rome: the English monarch was to be the overall leader of the Church of England, but not a spiritual authority. However, there were some actual religious practices that were very similar to the Catholic Church, including the celebration of the mass (also known as Holy Communion) and the priests’ wearing of vestments.
To try to bring together these different groups and ease religious tensions, Elizabeth came up with what became known as the Religious Settlement. In 1559 she passed two laws:
The Act of Supremacy
A visualisation of the Act of Supremacy, on the left, and the Act of Uniformity, on the right
This made Elizabeth the Supreme Governor of the Church. The term ‘Supreme Head’ was avoided because Christ was seen as Head of the Church. There was a strict prohibition of foreign leadership in the English church, so denying Elizabeth’s position in the Church was considered treason. The Act of Uniformity
This made Protestantism England’s official faith and also set out rules of religious practice and worship in a revised prayer book. This retained some Catholic traditions which Elizabeth hoped would make a good compromise and keep her people happy.
There was broad support for the new Settlement and very few refused to take the oath of loyalty to the queen. Elizabeth’s tolerant approach seemed to have worked on the whole, but it did not keep everyone happy and she faced numerous threats. Opposition came not only from Catholics, but also from more extreme Protestants, known as Puritans, who objected to any compromise with Catholic ideas.
