Catholics and Puritans

The first of Elizabeth's problems was religion. The Protestants who had fled from Mary streamed back, hoping for support from the new queen. By and large, they were satisfied. Elizabeth said that she, not the Pope, was head of the Church of England. The service would be read from an English prayer book, not sung in Latin. Priests were to be free to marry.

Some English people stayed Catholic, and worshipped in secret. Priests moved by night from house to house, hiding in lofts or in holes between walls. A few Catholics plotted to kill Elizabeth and put her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, on the throne. They got support from the Pope, who said that Elizabeth had no right to be queen. Priests and plotters who were caught were killed.

Europe's leading Catholic king was Philip of Spain. When Elizabeth had Mary Queen of Scots put to death in 1587, he went to war. He tried, with his Armada, to invade England in 1588, but failed. England and Spain were at war for the next sixteen years.

Puritans were also against the Church of England. They said it was just like the Catholic Church, with priests dressed in special robes. They did not like having the service read from a prayer book. Puritans wanted plain churches and services in plain English. They thought the minister should preach a sermon, not read prayers from a book. Elizabeth disliked the Puritans. In the last years of her reign, many of them were thrown into prison, and some were put to death.

Walter Robson: Crown, Parliament and People; Oxford University Press, 1992/2002, page 20