Queen Elizabeth (7th September 1533 - 24th March 1603)

In this way, Elizabeth and her advisors aimed at a church that included most opinions. Two groups were excluded. Catholics who remained loyal to the Pope were not to be tolerated. They were, in fact, regarded as traitors, because the Pope had refused to accept Elizabeth as Queen of England. Roman Catholics were given the hard choice of being loyal either to their church or their Country. For some priests it meant life on the run, in some cases death for treason. The other group not to be tolerated was made up of people who wanted reform to go much further, and who finally gave up on the Church of England. They could not see it as any longer a true church. They believed it had refused to obey the Bible, so they formed small groups of convinced believers outside the church. The response of the government was to use imprisonment and exile to try to crush these 'Separatists'.

Within the Church of England itself, three groups existed. Those who believed the form of the church was just what it should be included leaders like John Jewel and Richard Hooker. Others looked for opportunities to reintroduce some Catholic practices. Under the Stuart kings they were to have their chance. Others, who came to be called "Puritans", wanted to remove the traces of the old ways that still remained. The Stuart kings were to give them a rough passage. At the end of Elizabeth's reign, the Church of England was firmly in place, but within it were the seeds of future conflict.