The Puritan Challenge to Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement

During her reign Elizabeth faced a range of challenges from different groups of puritans who desired reform of the Elizabethan Settlement. This answer will assess three different challenges, from the Vestment Controversy of the 1560s, parliamentary pressure in the 1580s, and the threat of separatists in the 1580s-1590s. The position of this answer is that although there were notable challenges, ultimately, the Elizabethan government remained strong and firm which meant that these threats were minimal.

In the 1560s, the Elizabethan Settlement was challenged in what is now called the Vestment Controversy. Many clergymen who had puritan sympathies expressed their dissatisfaction in wearing dress outlined in the Act of Uniformity of 1559, believing the vestments were too Catholic and too popish. This was a challenge because it exposed religious divisions within the English Church, and it questioned Elizabeth’s authority by undermining her position.

However, this challenge was dealt with by Elizabeth and Archbishop Parker. Parker issued the ‘Advertisements’ which clarified the clergy dress-code and re-affirmed the Act of Uniformity. This led to 37 London clergymen being deprived of their posts. This allowed Elizabeth to re-assert her control and to deal with the challenge. Overall, the Vestment Controversy shows underlining disappointment with the lack of further protestant reform, however, it was not a serious threat because it did not lead to wider unrest within the Church or kingdom. Ultimately, the Settlement of 1559 was re-affirmed and strengthened, with the church hierarchy – such as Parker – remaining loyal to Elizabeth.

However, the puritan challenge, particularly in the form of Presbyterianism grew during the 1570s and 1580s, particularly in the form of pamphlets being produced by John Field and Thomas Cartwright. These ideas were able to convince a small, but determined, number of puritans to advocate for change through parliament. In 1584, Peter Turner introduced a bill into parliament which attempted to replace the Book of Common Prayer with a more puritan version, and in 1587 Anthony Cope proposed similar changes.

But both of these attempts at reform through parliament completely failed. Turner’s proposed bill in 1584 was not taken forward, with Elizabeth’s ministers (particularly Christopher Hatton) opposing it. Furthermore, Cope was actually placed for a short time in the Tower of London due to challenging Elizabeth’s royal prerogative powers. This shows that Elizabeth’s government remained firm against these parliamentary challenges and that the puritan movement had limited support in parliament in terms of agitating to changes to the Elizabethan Settlement.

Arguably the biggest puritan challenge came in the form of the radical puritan separatists. These directly opposed Elizabeth’s role as supreme governor because they no longer wanted to remain within the English Church and reform from within. In the 1580s, Robert Browne led a small congregation in Norwich, before then moving to the Netherlands, and in the 1590s the movement was led by Henry Barrow and John Greenwood who led small groups in London.

However, despite directly opposing Elizabeth, these movements were far too small in number to pose any serious challenge. Robert Browne’s attempts failed, and by the late 1580s he was back in England and had reconciled with the English Church. The Barrow and Greenwood attempts failed, particularly due to strong government action in the 1590s when an act was created to stamp out sectarian separatists. This led to the execution of both Barrow and Greenwood. Overall, the separatist challenge was far too limited in terms of numbers, and therefore the main leaders were easily dealt with. By the mid-1590s, this movement was no longer any threat to Elizabeth.

In conclusion, these three examples all challenged Elizabeth and her Settlement of 1559. The Vestment Controversy highlights concerns about clerical dress, but this was easily dealt with by firm action from both Elizabeth and Parker. The parliamentary pressure of the 1580s shows that there was a vocal minority, but again these attempts were quashed by firm action from Elizabeth and her ministers who controlled parliament. The most serious threat were the actions of separatists due to their direct challenge to Elizabeth’s role as supreme governor, but their small numbers – and firm governmental action – meant that within a few years this threat was also ended. This means that on the whole, the puritan challenge was easily dealt with through strong government actions.