Religion In 16th Century England

Religion was in the lives of all citizens within the English kingdom, which affected everything from politics to attitudes and behaviours of people, which can best be displayed throughout the Reformation of 16th Century England, of which, religion played a crucial role in the formation of the identity of England and its citizens. After the death of her half-sister Mary 1 of England, Elizabeth was then crowned as the Queen of England on January 15, 1559. Known as the “Golden Age”, Elizabeth had successfully reconstructed English culture with the use of institutionalized religious tolerance, which can best be described by the Latin term Via Media, which meant “Middle Ground”, and was used in Elizabethan times to help combine both rules of the

After England’s separation from the catholic church and the death of Henry VIII, England was left in a state of unrest, especially when it came to national identity. Before Elizabeth’s reign, many people were unsure of the religion of the state, because of this many civil wars broke out within the kingdom to help solidify an identity. During the reign of henry VIII, the annulment of Henry’s first marriage with Catherine of Aragon resulted in the establishment of The Church of England in 1533. Since England was recognized as a catholic state, Henry’s profound actions incited religious reformation and would cause England to remain protestant until the ascension of his daughter Mary in 1553. The accession of Mary furthered uproar throughout the nation as it returned to Catholicism, which would yet again change the identity of England. Due to the constant clashing of religious beliefs between the Catholics and the Protestant denominations, left civilization in England to be at constant war with each other over which religion was the true and honest one to follow, because of this violence had engulfed England which resulted in execution, destruction of religious artifacts, and mass-murder. Once Elizabeth came into power, she ensured that the decisions she made were in the best interests of everyone in her kingdom, and the image of being The Virgin Queen helped in the making of those decisions. Elizabeth’s Virgin Queen image helped proved her to be an powerful and great figure in society that everyone could look up to, which made the decisions Elizabeth made easier and more likely to be accepted by both Catholics and protestants due to her god-like image. Elizabeth’s image helped her secure the needs of everyone in her kingdom, which helped avoid civil unrest and provided English society with a sense of peace and