Using all the sources, and your own knowledge, assess to what extent the Church Settlement of 1559 was determined by Elizabeth Is own religious and political views.
Elizabeth was brought up as a Protestant, and her birth was a major cause in the initial break with Rome. However as she lived through the Protestant reform of Edward and Catholic restoration of Mary, she was careful never to be seen as too committed to either form of religion. When she came to the throne in 1558, Elizabeth was determined to settle the religion of the country which had been through a rollercoaster of reforms in the previous three decades. She wanted to impose a settle accepted by the masses and avoid the persecutions of Mary’s reign. This meant the settlement must be compromised and Elizabeth never let her own religious beliefs get in the way of achieving a stale, uniform country.
Elizabeth was a Protestant and the settlement is generally seen as mostly Protestant. However she could not be too extreme for fear of foreign Catholic powers like Philip II, but she realized the financial benefits of a Protestant regime. Therefore the settlement consisted of mostly Protestant characteristics but not radical Protestantism as reflected by her refusal to give in to Puritan demands, and also with religious toleration so Catholics were not persecuted unless they presented a real threat. Elizabeth was made Supreme Governor of the Church rather than Head to pacify radicals who did not like a woman in such a position. She demanded obedience as she believed in the monarchy having divine right, so the clergy were required to take an oath supporting her role, with those who refused being replaced. The Act of Uniformity then made church attendance compulsory with fines of 12d for those who refused. The Book of Common Prayers was deliberately ambiguous, for example Communion could be interpreted both as presence of Christ or a memorial, to ensure the settlement would be accepted by most. To increase her control preachers had to be licensed and preach once a month and books were to be licensed by the High Commission. These measures highlight Elizabeth’s desire to keep control. This is reflected in the wording of the Act of Supremacy in source 2 where it states that she and not a foreign power would have control in ‘all things religious and spiritual’ in the country. Source 3 suggests that the church was ‘greatly influenced by practical political considerations’ and this certainly seemed to be the case. This can be supported by source 1 where when praying Elizabeth asks for ‘faithful and obedient hearts’ for her subjects, reminding them of the importance of being loyal. These can show that the main aim for her religious settlement was to achieve political stability and influenced by her belief in divine rights.
