Three major sects of english religion essay

Three Major Sects of English Religion Historically the English society has come under several religious sects at different times. An assortment of religious doctrines was in practice in the beginning of the Elizabethan era, the most prominent being the Elizabethan Catholics and the Elizabethan Protestants. The longstanding Christian tradition of worship and church structures was integrated under Anglicanism. This article is going to compare and contrast between three of the major religious settlements in England in the seventeenth century. The religious denomination of Elizabethan Catholics emerged as a counter-reformation to the Protestant movement. It spanned for about 50 years, from 1558 to 1603.

(Sommerville n. d.) The strife between the Protestants and the Catholics dates back to the beginning of the sixteenth century when the people of England practiced the Roman Catholic tradition. It was during the regime of Martin Luther that Protestantism came to practice in Elizabethan England. The new religious settlement owes its name from the demonstration of protest by the followers of Martin Luther when the proponents of Roman Catholicism tried to prevent the spread of the new religious sect. The main conflict between Elizabethan Catholicism and the Elizabethan Protestantism was rooted in the practice of church services and the Bible. The Elizabethan Catholicism, or the older tradition, was of the opinion that all ecclesiastical services and the Bible should retain its original language, i. e.

, Latin as per the traditional custom in Great Britain. The new religious form propagated by Martin Luther demanded for remodeling such services in the language of the commoners. The conflicting ideologies also involved the interpretation of the role of Priests in relation with God. The Catholics viewed Priests as the mediator between man and God and revered them as Godlike figures ornate raiment.

Contrary to this, the Protestants did not believe in any extraordinary attribution of the priests. They were regarded as ordinary human beings who needed not to intervene into man’s quest for God. (Religion in Elizabethan England n. d.)The Anglican sect of religion laid emphasis on church structures and worship. Once considered to be a branch of the Western Christianity, Anglicanism became an independent religious denomination during the Elizabethan religious settlement. Both the Protestant and the Catholic strings were observable in the Anglican doctrine, especially in the functioning of the Church of England.

The Protestant heritage rendered a universal perspective of creation and continuity which was independent of any medium other than the God Himself. In other words, family, church and nation symbolized an orderly pattern that was equivalent to the doctrine of Protestantism in its nascent period in Elizabethan England. The apostolic notion inherent in Anglicanism served complementarily to maintain the prerequisites of a true church. Just like the traditional Roman Catholics, the Anglicans too recognize the role of the Priest as a medium between man and God, and dressed them in discernible attires. The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) adapted a language which was familiar to the mass, similar to what the Protestants advocated for. Thomas Hobbes in his famous book titled Leviathan supported the abolishment of episcopacy which was distinct to the Anglican theology.

(Collins 305-331) It can be stated that the lingering internal tussle between the Protestant and the Catholic sects around 1600 was somehow appeased by the Anglican theology until a group of Catholic believers along with the followers of Thomas White made an undercover deal with Oliver Cromwell to make room for religious tolerance for Catholics in the wake of an independent religious settlement in the Commonwealth of England.                      Works cited Sommerville, J. P. “ Elizabethan Catholics.

” 7 March 2009  “ Religion in Elizabethan England.” 7 March 2009

uk/religion-elizabethan-england. htm> Collins, Jeffrey R. “ THOMAS HOBBES AND THE BLACKLOIST CONSPIRACY OF 1649.” The Historical Journal 45 (2002): 305-331.