There are many reasons to view Puritanism in early modern England and
Wales as being an opposition movement. As Calvinists, Puritans were
not only opposed to Catholicism, but they ultimately overthrew the
English government during the English Civil War of 1642 to 1649.
Although the theocracy that resulted did not endure, lasting changes
to England's political and religious landscape occurred.
Calvinist theology rejects many elements of Catholicism, especially
those relating to the pope, so from that perspective Puritans can be
viewed as an opposition movement to the features of the Church of
England that continue to resemble Catholicism. They were particularly
opposed to the English episcopal system of church government by
bishops because Calvin eliminated the hierarchical system of priests,
bishops, and archbishops in favor of having individual congregations
elect their ministers and governing bodies comprised of ministers and
church elders (laymen responsible for overseeing the proper religious
conduct of the congregation). He also urged that church services be
simplified, eliminating ritual, special clothing for clergy,
instrumental music, images, and stained-glass windows. The sermon
became the primary focus of the service. This was a radical contrast
to the traditional Catholic service, with its emphasis on elaborate
ceremonies and sumptuous church decorations.
Although Luther was also preaching reformation of the Catholic Church
at this time, Calvin went much further in transforming both the
theology and the style of worship. Calvin's approach imposed much
greater restrictions on how the faithful should live their lives,
emphasizing the Old Testament. From Calvin's perspective, believers
should seek to master the world through unceasing labor for God's
sake. Calvin also used the Jewish Sabbath as an example with strict
prohibitions of any activities resembling pleasure or work. In
contrast, Luther had a much more relaxed view of Sunday, maintained a
hierarchical structure of church government that resembled the
Catholic system of a gradated ecclesiastical hierarchy, and maintained
many features of Roman worship such as altars and investments. Unlike
Luther, Calvin also believed that religion should strongly influence
government, going as far as establishing a theocracy in Geneva with
the goal of spreading the religion throughout Europe. The end result
was numerous religious wars over the following decades, including the
English Civil War.
The spread of Protestantism initially resulted in an expansion of the
power of national governments. Both Calvin and Luther preached that
followers should absolutely obey godly rulers. However, incredibly
strong religious passions arose between Catholics and Protestants,
resulting in numerous religious wars throughout Europe. Where
Calvinists were persecuted, they naturally became aggressive opponents
of the status quo. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth, her cousin
James I became the king of England as well as continuing to rule
Scotland. He made incredible claims of divine authority that upset
Puritans, but they were even more outraged by his failure to support
Protestants in Holland and Germany fighting Catholic oppression.
The Puritans were also upset by his failure to fully purify the
English Church of all traces of Catholic ritual and observance,
especially the episcopal system of church government by bishops. The
English Church had been brought fully under royal control by James I's
predecessors Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, but James I viewed royally
appointed bishops as being a key element of a strong monarchy.
Puritans also dominated the House of Commons and were prosperous
businessmen, so they also came into conflict with James I regarding
parliamentary controls on the crown and James I interference with
economic activities by granting monopolies to companies he favored.
As a result, James I was in constant conflict with Puritans on a host
of religious, constitutional, and economic matters throughout his
reign.
Although he survived these conflicts to die a natural death, his son
Charles I was not so fortunate. Charles I had the same notions of
divinely inspired absolute royal power, which quickly placed him in
conflict with the Puritans in Parliament. After being forced to
accept the Petition of Right in 1628 which declared all taxes not
voted by Parliament illegal, among other provisions, Charles I
dissolved parliament and governed without it from 1629 to 1640.
During this period, Charles I became especially hated by most of the
country, especially Puritans, because of his constitutional and
economic policies along with what appeared to be a religious drift
towards Catholicism and away from Calvinism.
A revolt in Scotland in 1640 against these policies, particularly the
introduction of episcopalian church government in Scotland, left
Charles dependent upon Parliament in order to obtain funds to
prosecute a war to punish the Scots. The Puritan leaders of the House
of Commons decided to seize control of the government, executing the
King's first minister and abolishing instruments fostering Charles'
arbitrary rule. Most importantly, they enacted a law forbidding the
king to dissolve Parliament and requiring it to meet at least once
every three years. After some initial wavering, Charles attempted to
arrest five of the leaders of the House of Commons. He failed, and
open warfare erupted in England, which lasted from 1642 to 1649. The
war ultimately ended with the beheading of Charles I on January 30,
1649. The House of Lords was abolished, and England became a
republic.
However, the republic was short-lived, with Oliver Cromwell gaining
virtually dictatorial powers and Parliament becoming less important
and ultimately being abruptly dismissed in 1655. Cromwell became an
even more absolute ruler than the kings who had preceded him. The
Puritan military dictatorship that resulted became deeply unpopular as
Calvinist austerity was imposed on the populace, such as prohibitions
of any public recreation on Sundays. As a result, following
Cromwell's death, Charles I's son became king and Parliament was
reestablished. However, the power of the monarchy was permanently
limited in contrast to the situation that had prevailed before the
war.
By revolting against both the prevailing church organizational
structure and ultimately the nation's government, Puritanism certainly
qualifies as an opposition movement in that it strongly opposed the
prevailing status quo. Although the most radical aspects of the
revolution did not endure, the fundamental changes to England's
government through the establishment of a limited monarchy were of
considerable importance both at the time and in the present.
Sincerely,
Wonko
I hope the above material and the following sources assist you in
writing your paper:
"English Civil War" Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/english-civil-war
"England A Narrative History" by Peter N. Williams (2000)
Britannia.com http://www.britannia.com/history/narrefhist.html
(continues for multiple pages accessible via links at the bottom of
each page). |
Clarification of Answer by
wonko-ga
on
14 Jan 2006 14:05 PST
Henry VIII established the English church as an independent entity
from Rome between 1531 and 1534 with himself in charge. However, he
maintained the system of church government by bishops known as
episcopalianism. The church also complied with Catholic doctrine.
Therefore, England was not a Protestant country although it had broken
with Rome.
Protestantism became more prominent in England during the rule of
Henry's son Edward. Since he became king at the age of nine, he was
essentially a figurehead, and three officials with strong Protestant
leanings transformed the Church of England by adopting Lutheran ideas.
Priests could marry, Latin was replaced by English in services,
veneration of images was abolished, and all sacraments were eliminated
except for baptism and communion.
Edward was replaced by Mary, Henry VIII's daughter, who was Catholic
and ruled briefly from 1553 to 1558. She attempted to undo the
changes to the church and even restore the relationship with Rome.
However, she was unsuccessful because of widespread Protestant belief
in the country, along with opposition from families who had profited
from the dissolution of the monasteries. Mary executed several
hundred Protestant extremists, but her changes ended with her death
when Elizabeth I definitively determined that England would be
Protestant. In the Act of Supremacy of 1559, Elizabeth repealed all
of Mary's Catholic laws and assumed royal control over the English
church. She also implemented most of the Protestant changes to
worship services that had been instituted during Edward's reign.
However, she left the church governmental structure intact and left
some of the most controversial beliefs of the Church of England
sufficiently vague so that most religious factions could accept them.
Because of the popularity of Protestantism in England amongst the
masses during this period, one could make the argument that Puritanism
was not an opposition movement. However, Puritanism was a more
extreme form of Protestantism that many Protestants found
objectionable with its strict Calvinist doctrine. However, Puritanism
was far more palatable than was Catholicism, lending the movement
popular support as it battled James I and Charles I over religious
beliefs, the role of Parliament, and economic freedom. However, the
limits of its acceptance were reached during Cromwell's rule. A lack
of popular support for its most extreme positions, such as forbidding
pleasurable activities on the Sabbath, led to a restoration of the
monarchy and Parliament.
I hope this additional information is helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Wonko
|
