Elizabethan religious settlement

Re-establishment of the Protestant church in England by Queen Elizabeth I during the Reformation. Papal authority was renounced in the Act of Supremacy (1559), and the Prayer Book of 1552, introduced under Edward VI, was restored in the Act of Uniformity (1559). The Thirty-Nine Articles (1571) confirmed Protestant doctrine, particularly the use of the English bible and justification by faith. However, at the same time, the settlement made certain concessions to Roman Catholics in England. Elizabeth declared herself only supreme governor of the English church rather than supreme head as her father Henry VIII had done. She kept bishops, music, and vestments, and allowed the celebration of saints' days.

Article 22 of the Thirty-Nine Articles declared that ‘Romish Doctrine...is a fond thing vainly invented’ and Article 28 declared that ‘Transubstantiation ... is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture’. However, the Protestant doctrine of the real presence was a move towards the doctrine of transubstantiation (the transformation of bread and water into the body and blood of Jesus during the Eucharist). For this reason, the Elizabethan settlement is often portrayed as a ‘middle way’ in religion. Nevertheless, the guiding principle was the Act of Uniformity (1559), not a declaration of religious toleration – in the 16th century rulers did not allow their subjects the right to worship according to their conscience.