EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Religious Change and Crime
c1500-c1700 · Chapter 2: Crime and punishment in early modern England, c1500-c1700 · Lesson 1 of 5
What Do You Already Think?
Answer before the lesson, then check your ideas at the end.
1. Why might a king care what religion his subjects followed?
Religion and loyalty were linked: rejecting the monarch's Church could look like rejecting the monarch.
2. What is the difference between heresy and treason?
Heresy is going against the Church's teaching; treason is betraying the monarch.
3. Could the law change even if nobody's behaviour did?
Yes - a new monarch could make yesterday's normal worship today's crime.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe how the official religion of England changed between 1534 and 1603.
2. Explain why religious change created new crimes against authority, such as treason and recusancy.
3. Compare how Mary I and Elizabeth I punished religious opponents.
Setting the Scene
In 1500 England was a Catholic country and the Pope was head of the Church. Over the next century the official religion changed again and again, depending on who sat on the throne. Each change meant that people who stayed loyal to the old faith could suddenly become criminals.
1534 - Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy makes the king Head of the Church of England. | 1547 - Edward VI makes England firmly Protestant. | 1553 - Mary I restores Catholicism and the Pope's authority. | 1559 - Elizabeth I's Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity create a Protestant Church of England. | 1570 - The Pope excommunicates Elizabeth, encouraging Catholics to disobey her. | 1605 - Catholic plotters try to blow up James I and Parliament.
Monarchs and Religion
Each change of monarch could change what counted as a crime.
|
Monarch |
Religion |
Who was punished |
How |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Henry VIII (1509-47) |
Broke with Rome |
Those who denied his supremacy, and some Protestants |
Treason and heresy executions |
|
Edward VI (1547-53) |
Protestant |
Few executions; heresy laws repealed |
Mainly fines and imprisonment |
|
Mary I (1553-58) |
Catholic |
Protestants |
Around 280 burned as heretics |
|
Elizabeth I (1558-1603) |
Protestant |
Catholics, especially priests |
Fines for recusancy; execution for treason |
Religion Becomes a Crime Against Authority
Once the monarch was head of the Church, disagreeing with the Church meant disagreeing with the monarch.
▸ Act of Supremacy. In 1534 Henry VIII made himself Head of the Church of England. The Treason Act of the same year made it treason even to say that he was not.
▸ Thomas More. Henry's former chief minister refused to accept the supremacy and was executed for treason in 1535.
▸ Recusancy. Under Elizabeth, people who refused to attend Church of England services were called recusants and were fined - 12 pence a week from 1559, rising to £20 a month in 1581.
▸ Catholic priests. After 1570, being a Catholic priest in England, or converting someone to Catholicism, could be treated as treason.
Mary I and Elizabeth I
|
MARY I (1553-58) |
ELIZABETH I (1558-1603) |
|
▸ Wanted to restore Catholicism and the Pope's authority. ▸ Treated Protestants as heretics - a crime against God. ▸ Burned around 280 people, including Archbishop Cranmer. ▸ Earned the name "Bloody Mary" from Protestant writers. |
▸ Wanted a Protestant Church that most people could accept. ▸ Treated Catholic opponents as traitors - a crime against the queen. ▸ Used fines for ordinary recusants. ▸ Executed around 200 Catholics, mostly priests, for treason. |
Why Treat Religion as Treason?
For Tudor monarchs, religious unity meant political safety.
▸ Excommunication. In 1570 the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth and told Catholics they need not obey her, so loyal Catholics looked like potential rebels.
▸ Foreign threat. Catholic Spain was England's great enemy; the Spanish Armada sailed in 1588.
▸ Plots. Catholic plots to replace Elizabeth with Mary, Queen of Scots, such as the Babington Plot (1586), convinced the government that Catholics were dangerous.
▸ Unity. A kingdom divided by religion was seen as a kingdom open to rebellion.
Crime Against God or Crime Against the Monarch?
Place each punishment on the line.
CRIME AGAINST GOD ——▸ CRIME AGAINST THE MONARCH
1. Mary burns Protestants. Punished as heresy - a sin against the true faith
2. Henry executes Thomas More. Denying the king's supremacy was treason
3. Recusancy fines. Refusing to worship in the monarch's Church
4. Elizabeth executes priests. Treated as agents of a foreign enemy
Key Terms
|
Reformation The break from the Catholic Church that created Protestant churches. |
Act of Supremacy Henry VIII's 1534 law making the monarch Head of the Church of England. |
|
Recusant A Catholic who refused to attend Church of England services. |
Excommunication Being expelled from the Catholic Church by the Pope. |
|
Treason Betraying or threatening the monarch. |
Heresy Holding beliefs that go against the official religion. |
|
Act of Uniformity Elizabeth's 1559 law setting out how everyone had to worship. |
|
Summary
✓ England's official religion changed several times between 1534 and 1559.
✓ Each change created new criminals among those who kept the old faith.
✓ Mary punished Protestants as heretics; Elizabeth punished Catholics as traitors.
✓ Religious crimes became crimes against authority because the monarch led the Church.
|
EXAM FOCUS Explain why religious changes led to new crimes in the period c1500-c1700. (12 marks) Link each new crime to the change that caused it, and explain why the monarch saw religious disagreement as a threat. |