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7) Puritans and their beliefs - Coggle Diagram
7) Puritans and their beliefs
Who were the puritans?
Strict Protestants who were influenced by extreme Protestants in europe, like John Calvin
In some cases, they lived in exile in europe during the reign of Elizabeths Catholic sister, mary
They were keen to remove all Catholic elements from the English Church
They studied thebible, wanted plain clothing and simple services
Some puritans were appointed by bishops by Elizabeth, though some argued over their robes. by 1568, most of them had agreed to wear the white gown or surplice required by the Church of England during services
Hard-line Puritans
Known as Presbyterians, they questioned Elizabeth's religious settlement and the need for bishops
In the 1570's, they held popular meetings, called prophesying, to discuss the bible. there was often criticism of the queen and her religious policies at these meetings, too
Edmund Grindal, the archbishop of Canterbury, encouraged prophesying despite these criticisms
Elizabeth suspended Grindal as Archbishop
in 1580, John Field, a prominent and very strict puritan, was banned from preaching
The leaders of a new separatist church founded in London in 1593, Henry Barrow and John Greenwood, were hung
Powerful Puritans
Sir Francis Walsingham - the queen's senior minister and spy master. he largely kept his religious views to himself, aware they might make him unpopular
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester - a privy councillor and seen as a potential husband for Elizabeth. he was unwilling to put his position at risk by openly challenging the Church
Peter Wentworth and Anthony Cope - Presbyterian MP's who tried to bring change to the church by introducing bills to parliament, however, they didn't gain much support from other MP's
Elizabeth's response to Puritanism
When Grindal died in 1583, Elizabeth replaced him as Archbishop with John Whitgift, who took a tough stance against Puritans. with this key appointment, and the death of Dudley in 1588 and Walsingham in 1590, Elizabeth began to crack down on Puritanism
measures against Puritans included;
New rules introduced by Whitgift banning unlicensed preaching and forcing church attendance with recusnacy fines
A new High Commission with the power to fine and imprison Puritans who refused to follow the rules
The dismissal or imprisonment of hundred of clergymen
The punishment of printers for spreading the Puritan message
A crackdown on high profile Puritans, like Anthony Cope, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London