WRITE AN ARGUMENTATIVE TEXT ABOUT THE RELIGIOUS PROBLEM IN ENGLAND

The Renaissance and the Puritan Age

The English Renaissance is a period which covers the whole of the 16^th century and part of the 17^th, characterized by great changes and great contrast, not only between the king and Parliament, but also in the religious field.

Problems started when king Henry VIII used the divorce with Catherine of Aragon as a pretext to found the Church of England and proclaimed himself head of the Anglican church, in order to raise money for the crown and the state cash. With the Act of Supremacy in 1534 and then the Oath of Supremacy, he forced Englishmen to refuse the Pope’s authority and therefore go against Catholic Church. As a result, lots of men were condemned to death on charge of high treason (for example, Thomas More).

After Henry VIII’s death, Edward VI (who was protestant) became king at 9 years old and afterwards, the throne went to the catholic Mary Tudor, who persecuted Catholics and then Protestants.

Fortunately, in 1558, Elizabeth I became queen and re-established the Anglican Church, adopting a policy of compromise. She guaranteed a period of peace and stability, from the religious point of view. Indeed, in 1559 she issued a second Act of Supremacy, which underlined the independence of the church of England and the Act of Uniformity, that made the use of the Book of Common Prayer compulsory. During her reign, some Catholics tried to make her cousin Mary Stuart (who was queen of Scotland, a catholic country) queen of England, but their plots were discovered and at the end, Mary was beheaded.

James I inherited a very difficult country to be ruled, because of the internal tensions. He wanted to reinforce the Anglican church, but he discontented Puritans and Catholics. Therefore, on 5^th November 1605, some Catholics organized the Gunpowder Plotand tried to blow up the king and Parliament. However, the plot was discovered and many Catholics were killed, while Puritans were persecuted and some of them (called “the Pilgrim Fathers”) escaped to America, on board the Mayflower, and founded New Plymouth.

During Charles I’s reign, there were others rebellions and the king had to face religious troubles in Scotland and in Ireland, until in 1642 the first Civil War broke out. On one side the Royalists or Cavaliers, supported by the Crown and The Anglican Church, on the other side the Parliamentarians or “Roundheads” supported by the Puritans. The latter won and, for a brief period, England became a Parliament Republic called the Commonwealth. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell proclaimed himself Lord Protector and began his dictatorship, suited to Puritans’ ethics: theatres were closed, a strict way of life was imposed and people had to dress in a simple way and wore their hair cut short. Everyone had to pray, produce and work; every form of amusement was abolished. For these reasons, people rebelled and, after a summon of Parliament, the monarchy and the Church of England were re-established, thanks to Charles II, who granted freedom of religion to Puritans and Catholics.

Concluding, during the Renaissance and the Puritan Age, there were lots of troubles in the religious field, however the Reformation brought with itself other positive changes. To tell the truth, the central church authority was replaced by individual conscience and the individual reading of the Bible was encouraged. In order to do that, there were new translations of the Old and New Testaments into English and in 1611 the King James’ Bible, called the Authorised Version, was adopted in the Anglican Church to uniform people.