The rise of Puritan ideology in Elizabeth I’s Church and Government was potentially an extremely dangerous threat to her power. Although it may be perceived that Elizabeth was continuing to control her position soundly, it does not mean that the Puritans did not pose a threat to royal authority. Nonetheless, attempts to promote Puritan ideas were indeed crushed quickly and effectively by Elizabeth, which meant that the movement never got the chance to develop into anything highly damaging and serious. Despite this, it would be wrong to say that the Puritans never caused havoc or danger to the Queen herself and the Church. This will be exampled by 3 documents which highlight the Queen’s rapid actions to prevent this ideology from becoming reality.
There was undoubtedly an increase in extreme Protestant views during Elizabeth I’s reign and although this was the belief she supported, it was never her intention to enforce it to that extremity. She grew anxious at the amount of people supporting this movement and as a method of supressing it the Government passed a law as indicated in Source 19, from the Act against Seditious Sectaries in 1593, stating that “if any person above the age of 16…go about to move or persuade any of her Majesty’s subjects or to deny her Majesty’s power and authority…the person offending shall be adjudged a felon.” It becomes clear from this that the Queen thought the Puritans were threatening enough for Parliament to create a new law that included severe punishment – the death penalty, if it was abused. Her concern was more politically based as their disobedience was undermining her divine right and her authority as Supreme Governor of the Church. Passing this new law was in Elizabeth’s eyes one of the ways of effectively destroying the movement in the fastest amount of time with the least amount of chaos. Anne Somerset can see this and believes that Elizabeth although at times was put under pressure never handed over her control, “Elizabeth was fully alive to the inherent dangers of Puritanism. She had no intention of relinquishing control over her church, or of giving in to pressure for further reform.” This supports the idea that Elizabeth’s quite extreme actions may depict an image of panic and struggle but were in fact her way of imprinting her authority. On the other hand, historian J.E Neale argues for the rise of a Puritan parliamentary opposition, known as the “Puritan Choir” which follows the notion that the Puritan movement was close to seizing power and were a direct threat the Queen’s supremacy.
Elizabeth I is known as a strong and powerful woman who did not stand for disobedience or rebellion. However, the rise of the Puritans was certainly a challenge, on the surface she may have seemed calm and collected but underneath the strain was apparent. Source 5 reveals Elizabeth’s uneasiness about the situation as she writes to Matthew Parker “We thought until this present…these errors have been stayed and appeased. But perceiving very lately…doth rather begin to increase…against the laws, good usages and ordinances of our realm, to be reformed and repressed.” Her nervous and rather annoyed tone indicates her panic. She is writing in urgency that this needs to be repressed now. From this letter we can gather that Elizabeth thought the situation was under control but now the Puritans seem to be causing her grief and worry. They indeed were posing a threat. Conversely, G. R. Elton argues that “England was far from puritan, but it was becoming more definitely protestant, and in this movement the extremists naturally took the lead”. Arguably if the Puritan threat had been as serious as some of these historians suggest, civil war would have broken out much sooner. However, this didn’t happen during Elizabeth I’s reign and so clearly she remained in control and handled the situation skilfully in order to maintain stability as much as possible. Guy sums this up saying: “Irrespective of Elizabeth's private faith, she maintained a vice-like grip on the Church of England and on the pace of change”. Therefore, the threat that the Puritans posed was significant enough to be acknowledged and dealt with severely but did not reach a reform or unhinging of Elizabeth’s reign.
Furthermore, the Puritans were a challenge to Elizabeth, especially as the movement progressed. A new boldness was appearing amongst them and they were beginning to question the rules appointed by her Majesty. This was viewed upon as outright defiance against the divine right. An example of this opposition is evidenced in Source 12, an extract from a speech in The Houses of Parliament by Peter Wentworth in 1576. “I have never seen …the liberty of free speech in so many ways infringed…The Queen said we should not deal in any matters of religion…it is a dangerous thing in a prince to oppose or bend herself against her nobility and people.” This threatening tone highlights an almost aggressive reaction to the Queen’s laws. Peter Wentworth, being nobility and a member of parliament had some influence, more than that of the general public who were disputing the Queen’s laws. Her own nobility turning against her is a sign of danger, proving the situation to be rather serious. However, Elizabeth was willing to treat all future Puritan threats extremely harshly in order to stamp it out before it became more dangerous, which is why she appointed a man well known to hate Puritans to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury- John Whitgift in 1583. He implemented a total crackdown on Puritans, enforcing the law that Puritanism was an offence and not allowing clergymen their licences to preach unless they gave full and unconditional subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles. Susan Doran contests that these measures were useful in destroying Puritanism, and were a serious setback for Presbyterians, “Whitgift’s muzzling of the Puritan press, which severely limited Presbyterian opportunities for positive publicity.” Even so, Whitgift’s actions were met with uproar with many people refusing to subscribe to his articles. As shown, yes the Puritans were persistent and continued to fight their corner, Elizabeth was able to keep them at bay.
Overall, it is clear that the rise of the Puritans was indeed a cause for caution and anxiety on Elizabeth’s part and it was an ongoing issue throughout her reign, yet I do not believe it posed an extremely serious threat again her Majesty as she remained in power and managed to avoid civil war or a violent rebellion. As Elton argued, “the Presbyterian threat was no real threat at all” and “Puritans failed to change the organisation and hierarchy of the church.”