Religion During the Time of Queen Elizabeth

In the early 1500s the people of England all practiced the roman catholic religion. The practices of the catholic religion were questioned during the reformation, and the beliefs of men such as German Martin Luther(1483-1546) started forming an new religion called Protestantism.

So what were the differences of the two religions? The Elizabethan Catholics believed that church services and the bible should all be in Latin, as its been of 1000 years. In the church of the Catholics had beautiful artwork and statues all around to worship as it is today. But in the protestant church was plain to help you concentrate on the sermons. Protestants also believed that you did not have to have a pope or priests to lead you into the hands of god. The Catholics believed that if you wanted to have your sins forgiven to get to heaven you would go to priest. For a price.

Same as today! In the St Peter Cathedral there is a box where you go t put money in after having your sins forgiven, but not all catholic churches have this anymore. You were not aloud to get a divorce then, if you really wanted to you had to go to the pope, Elizabeth’s father king hennery was dined to get a divorce so instead he planned her murder. Before Elizabeth became queen, her sister Mary the queen sent her to exile for three years because of her religion, because she was protestant, Mary was a very evil person, her nickname bloody Mary is because she killed anyone who was not catholic even woman and children. After the three years her and her sister made up because Elizabeth said she would become catholic but in secret she was still protestant. When her sister died, Mary never had any children, she couldn’t.

Elizabeth became queen and said that you could be catholic as long as it didn’t disrupt the protestant church. As Elizabeth was queen, the pope and her cousin Mary of Scotts, who was catholic, plotted to assassinate Elizabeth because her was not catholic, most Catholics believed that Mary of Scotts was the real queen of England. Later on Mary was beheaded for trying to kill her. People to this day still don’t know if Shakespeare was catholic or protestant. His family was catholic but in many of his plays refereed as mocking the catholic church.

There is no direct evidence to Williams religious affairs. But in his plays refer to both religions. Some people say that he was a secret catholic. It is getting harder to say that there was Catholicism in his family.