Religious Settlement

Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement of 1559 aimed to unite the kingdom under an established Church rather than satisfy every religious belief. The Act of Supremacy made her Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Clergy and government officials had to accept her authority through an oath.

Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement of 1559 aimed to establish a Protestant Church that as many people as possible could accept. Its ‘middle way’ combined Protestant worship and royal control with some familiar Catholic appearances and practices. It was a compromise within an official national Church, not freedom for everyone to choose their own public religion.

Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement of 1559 established a Protestant Church of England. Understanding these original arrangements helps explain what her government was enforcing after 1580.