James I & VI – Religious Policy - History



James I & VI – Religious Policy

Monarchs during the Tudor Stuart period ruled according to the Divine Right of Kings and this was to have far reaching consequences for James’ son, Charles. James himself was a strong believer that, as King, he had been anointed by God. It was also the case during the Tudor Stuart period that religious conformity was equated with loyalty to the Crown. In other words, those who dissented faced a possible charge of treason. This made religion and religious policy a crucial issue.

It was essential that James continue to provide religious stability as his predecessor Elizabeth had done. The fate of his own mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was evidence of the need for a clear and stable religious policy. Indeed, religion impacted on many aspects of ruling the country. In terms of foreign policy, James had inherited a war with Spain. Spain for her part wanted to reclaim England for the Catholic faith. James wanted peace and therefore pursued a Catholic Spanish marriage for his son and as well as a Protestant marriage for his daughter. James himself was a sincere Protestant, but his basic aim was to blend the Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian Churches in a perfect religious union.

The English Church was in the Protestant Reformed tradition at the time of James’ accession to the throne. After 1603 James found that the English Church had more respect for the institution of Monarchy than the Scottish Church had. The death of Elizabeth and the arrival of a new King gave Catholics and Puritans an opportunity to change religious policy in their favour. James was neither Catholic nor Puritan, however, both groups hoped he would listen to them.

James’ dream was for a real “British” Monarchy and unity in religion was essential in achieving this. It was therefore with great seriousness and even hope that James took the Office of Supreme Governor of the Church.

The Millenary Petition - 1603

The Millenary Petition of 1603, the first year of James’ reign, initiated a debate over religious policy. The Millenary Petition was a list of requests given to James by Puritans when he was traveling to London in order to claim the English throne. It is claimed, but not proven, that this petition had 1,000 signatures of Puritan ministers. This carefully worded document expressed Puritan distaste regarding the Anglican Church and took into consideration James' religious views as well as his liking for a debate, as written in Basilikon Doron. In a time when it was unfavourable to criticise the King directly, there was no hint of dissatisfaction with Royal Supremacy in the Petition and the Puritan reformers stressed that they were not separatists throughout.

The general Puritan feeling was that, despite Elizabeth's best efforts and the introduction of the new Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican Church still remained too Popish. There were, however, different types of Puritan Reformers. On one hand, there were the moderate reformers, and on the other, there were the extremist revolutionary reformers, who hoped for deep, structural changes within the Anglican Church. While many of the main Puritan goals were rejected, the Petition did culminate in the Hampton Court Conference, in which James called together his leading Bishops and which eventually led the King to produce an English version of the Bible, now known as the King James Version.

The Hampton Court Conference - 1604

The Hampton Court Conference in 1604 saw the king in his element. He took a personal role in the debate and made it clear that he hoped to find a place in his Church for all moderates. It was only extremists that he intended to “harry from the land,” those who, unlike the supporters of the Millenary Petition, sought to tear down the established Church. The King responded favourably to the call for creating a better educated and better paid clergy and tackled several doctrinal matters.

However, only a few of the points raised by the petitioners found their way into the revised Canons of 1604. In fact, the most important result of the Conference was the establishment of a commission to provide an authorized English translation of the Bible, the King James Version (1611).

James's hope was that moderates of all persuasions, Roman Catholic and Protestant alike, might dwell together in his Church. However, his plan to find a formula to encompass Catholics within the Calvinist English church was overthrown by the hot-headedness of Guy Fawkes and his confederates, who conspired to assassinate the King, Lords, and Commons by blowing up the Houses of Parliament. The failure of the Gunpowder Plot (1605) led to reprisals against Catholics and prevented James from going any further than exhibiting humane leniency toward them in the later years of his reign. Nevertheless, James's unifying outlook did much to defuse religious conflict and led to twenty years of relative peace within the English church.

The Scottish Church

James began his plan to unite the Scottish and English Churches by ordering Andrew Melville, a man with considerable influence inside the Scottish Church, to visit English Churches. Unfortunately for James, Melville was not won over. After verbally abusing the Church of England he was forced into exile.

James’ next Archbishop of Canterbury, George Abbott, had more in common with the Scottish clergy and James was therefore able to advance the authority of Scottish Bishops. His visit to Scotland in 1617 strengthened the links between the English and Scottish Churches. English services were even said in the chapel of his palace Holyrood House.

It was with the Five Articles of Perth in 1618 that James brought two Churches into line. The Articles laid out a number of terms:

1.) Holy Communion to be taken kneeling.

2.) Confirmation to be revived and performed by a Bishop.

3.) Private Baptism and Communion available for the sick.

4.) Easter, Christmas, Good Friday, Ascension Day, Whitsunday to be celebrated.

The Articles were very unpopular in Scotland, passing by 86 votes to 59. The Scottish Parliament therefore insisted that there would be no further changes to the Scottish Church. The Articles were henceforth passed, but not necessarily enforced.

Differences between the English and Scottish Churches continued. English distaste for all things Scottish was effectively caricatured by Anthony Weldon: ‘the Scots christen without the Cross, marry without the ring, receive the Sacraments without reverence, die without repentance and bury without divine service’.

Foreign Policy

Events in Europe also made religious policy difficult for James. The Thirty Years War, fought from 1618 – 1648 in the territory of modern day Germany, was a religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants involving most of the European powers. This issue, as well as the rise of Arminianism in Europe, a strand of Protestantism close to Calvinism, served to heighten religious opinions and tensions in England. It was during the Thirty Years War that James faced a terrible dilemma. He needed to come to the aid of his daughter, married to the Protestant Elector Palatine, who was under attack by the Catholic Hapsburgs. In order to avoid war with Catholic Spain, James arranged the marriage of his son, Charles, and the Spanish Infanta.

Religious policy was important because it affected relations with Parliament as well as foreign policy. Religion was also important because weekly communication with the Monarch’s subjects was through compulsory Parish services. It can be seen that James did face some problems with religion, however, these should not detract from his success. Although the Articles of Perth were unpopular in Scotland, James did manage to stamp his authority on the Church of England after the Hampton Court Conference and Gunpowder Plot. The middle years of James’ reign were a period of consolidation of the Church of England under the Sovereign and Bishops. Historians have generally judged the Jacobean Compromise to be a success.

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