The Puritan Threat
L.O: To explore the ways in which they opposed Elizabeth’s religious settlement and assess how
threatening they were
Pg 199 of Elizabeth textbook:
How great a threat do you feel the Puritans were to Elizabeth?
It was a threat as the Puritans consistently tried to enact reforms and amalgamated a fair amount
of support. However, Elizabeth was able to control the discontent amongst Puritans by denying
parliament from discussing religious matters, denying the reading of bills proposed and imprisoning
the main leaders of the Puritan revolution in England. If any of their radical notions were passed it
would disrupt Elizabeth’s religious balance and cause discontent within the Catholic sector.
Do you think the government responded successful?
The Puritans remained persistent in the rhetoric for over 20 years and were not scared of the impli-
cations that would result with disagreeing with the reforms Elizabeth was making. However, Eliza-
beth was able to get around it by refusing to read the bills and denying the government from dis-
cussing religious matters in Parliament, giving them little opportunity to concede to the Puritans.
What do you feel was the biggest obstacle to Elizabeth preventing the suppression of Puri-
tans?
The fact that Elizabeth had people in higher places in court who had Puritan leanings- they had the
money to scale a full rebellion and their position at court gave them more chance to have Puritan
beliefs introduced into the Church and doctrine. Also the Convocation who were sympathetic to Pu-
ritan beliefs and they were the people who were able to pass religious laws.
Which Puritan movement do you think was more threatening to Elizabeth? (pg 202 of Eliza-
beth textbook)
Classical Presbyterianism is probably the most threatening movement to Elizabeth as it directly
threatened the belief that Church and state were the responsibility of the monarch. The fact that
they actively networked to not obey Elizabeth’s religious policies and they had international con-
nections with people in London, so it could be made more widespread. Elizabeth took a stronger
approach to this movement rather than Prophesyings, which shows that this was considerably
more of a threat. John Whitgift really pushed for people to conform to Elizabeth and discover those
who were Puritan. However, when Elizabeth went to make Grindal as the Archbishop after
Parker’s death, he refused to suppress Prophesyings and was removed from his position.
Questions from pg 203
1. They reveal that Elizabeth feared the effects of Prophesyings
• It was mainly common in the younger generations
• May encourage unrest within the church and hence society
• She wanted Archbishop Grindal to suppress them and when he refused he was arrested
• Shows that Prophesyings amalgamated a lot of people
• Elizabeth viewed them as the ‘vulgar sort’ so uneducated
• Mixed opinions were dangerous
3. Archbishop Grindal refused to suppress them as he saw that they served a useful purpose and
was sympathetic to Puritan cause. He believed they were trying to improve the standard of the
clergy and therefore the Church structure.
L.O: To explore the ways in which they opposed Elizabeth’s religious settlement and assess how
threatening they were
Pg 199 of Elizabeth textbook:
How great a threat do you feel the Puritans were to Elizabeth?
It was a threat as the Puritans consistently tried to enact reforms and amalgamated a fair amount
of support. However, Elizabeth was able to control the discontent amongst Puritans by denying
parliament from discussing religious matters, denying the reading of bills proposed and imprisoning
the main leaders of the Puritan revolution in England. If any of their radical notions were passed it
would disrupt Elizabeth’s religious balance and cause discontent within the Catholic sector.
Do you think the government responded successful?
The Puritans remained persistent in the rhetoric for over 20 years and were not scared of the impli-
cations that would result with disagreeing with the reforms Elizabeth was making. However, Eliza-
beth was able to get around it by refusing to read the bills and denying the government from dis-
cussing religious matters in Parliament, giving them little opportunity to concede to the Puritans.
What do you feel was the biggest obstacle to Elizabeth preventing the suppression of Puri-
tans?
The fact that Elizabeth had people in higher places in court who had Puritan leanings- they had the
money to scale a full rebellion and their position at court gave them more chance to have Puritan
beliefs introduced into the Church and doctrine. Also the Convocation who were sympathetic to Pu-
ritan beliefs and they were the people who were able to pass religious laws.
Which Puritan movement do you think was more threatening to Elizabeth? (pg 202 of Eliza-
beth textbook)
Classical Presbyterianism is probably the most threatening movement to Elizabeth as it directly
threatened the belief that Church and state were the responsibility of the monarch. The fact that
they actively networked to not obey Elizabeth’s religious policies and they had international con-
nections with people in London, so it could be made more widespread. Elizabeth took a stronger
approach to this movement rather than Prophesyings, which shows that this was considerably
more of a threat. John Whitgift really pushed for people to conform to Elizabeth and discover those
who were Puritan. However, when Elizabeth went to make Grindal as the Archbishop after
Parker’s death, he refused to suppress Prophesyings and was removed from his position.
Questions from pg 203
1. They reveal that Elizabeth feared the effects of Prophesyings
• It was mainly common in the younger generations
• May encourage unrest within the church and hence society
• She wanted Archbishop Grindal to suppress them and when he refused he was arrested
• Shows that Prophesyings amalgamated a lot of people
• Elizabeth viewed them as the ‘vulgar sort’ so uneducated
• Mixed opinions were dangerous
3. Archbishop Grindal refused to suppress them as he saw that they served a useful purpose and
was sympathetic to Puritan cause. He believed they were trying to improve the standard of the
clergy and therefore the Church structure.
