Catholic Education During The Reign Of Elizabeth Ⅰ

Catholicism in British history usually appears as a negative role compared to Puritanism, so historians often overlook Catholics in Reformation, so is educational situation of Catholics. Elizabeth established the tone of the Protestant religion, and in order to establish and consolidate their dominance and religious unity, the government tried to prohibit Catholic education so that Catholic education can only turned to the underground and overseas. On that condition, England’s domestic secret Catholic school teachers and family tutors, England seminaries in continental Europe came into being to provide basic education and university education for England Catholics instead. Furthermore, these schools were also meant to develop new Catholic priest and played a important role in preserving and continuing the Catholic faith in England. At that time, compared to Protestant education, Catholic education was weak, and because of its connection to the Spanish Jesuit and Rome, its impact was limited.Based on the Elizabethan Catholic education research and from the angle of education, the thesis tries to investigate the interaction between education and religion, politics, explain the fate of the Catholic of this period, as well as how it is gradually from the mainstream to the edge. Elizabeth adopted a more moderate religious policy at the beginning of her reign, teachers were required to take the oath and acknowledge the supremacy of the queen in order to obtain a license in college or to earn a degree, resulting in the collapse of Catholic education system, at least on the surface.But in fact, restrictions on Catholic education policy during this period was not strictly implemented. Punishments of Catholic teachers were very seldom practiced, so Catholic Education was largely maintained. Meanwhile, a part of the intellectuals as the representative of the more radical Catholics could not accept the Queen’s religious policies, so they exiled to the European continent and established overseas England seminaries, providing a new access to higher education for English Catholics. In 1568, William Allen founded Douai College as the first English seminaries on European Continent. The England seminary abroad aimed to develop new Catholic clergies as missionary priests to return to England to restore Catholicism. In the ensuing decades, overseas Douai England seminary attracted many students and developed smoothly. In addition,Allen also assisted the Pope to establish an English seminary in Rome, which was also welcomed by English Catholics. From 1574, the seminary training Catholic priest began the missionary activities, and from 1580, Jesuit joined the missionary rows, forming the turn of Catholic education in this period. Elizabeth was deeply disturbed by the contact between English Catholics and foreign Catholic forces overseas, so the English seminary priests and Jesuits were sentenced for treason and the subjects receiving the Catholic missionaries and teachers were imposed to fines and other penalties. At the same time, during this period the government was more alert and increased efforts to arrest Catholic teachers, so many Catholic students and teachers were under control. In 1588, England defeated the Spanish Armada, the foreign Catholic threat became smaller, but the queen did not relax the trace of Roman Catholic schools, but continue to take measures to suppress domestic and overseas Catholic education and made proclamations to ban Catholic education, making it more and more marginalized. And after the war, Robert Parsons still remained close contact with Philip II and established new English seminaries in Valladolid, Seville, O’mer of Spain, expanding the Catholic education scale aboard. But after death of Allen, the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, the conflicts between English seminary students and Jesuit frequently happened, leading to the Controversy of Archpriest and other conflicts, also the internal split in the seminary.From the point of view of religion and education, education is a means of religion; religion is the purpose of education, especially for the traditional Catholic. The Catholic from the early Elizabethan occupied the majority of the population, but to her later rule had been marginalized, which had something to do with the Elizabethan control of education. In this period, Catholic education was not extinguished at Elizabeth’s repression, but had reservations at home and abroad, and was able to continue to foster the Catholic clergies, which contributed to the survival of Catholic Church. Finally, the presence of Catholic education and Catholic resistance did not overturn the status of national church and the religious policy of Elizabeth, which was inseparable with the important stage in the formation of the nation-state at that time, Separatism of religion could not change this deepening trend after all. And this was also reflected in the body of the Catholic Church, although the English Catholic faith persisted, but most catholic recusants were just against the spirit of Elizabeth’s religious policy, but remained political loyalty to the Queen, which could been seen in the Catholic fight against Spanish invasion.