James I's Relationship With The Church

Although James I was a very successful ruler and a devout Christian, he did not have an altogether harmonious relationship with the church. He had a very controversial personal life as he married twice and had several lovers and illegitimate children (Caputo & Clarke, 147). There is no question that James’ choices in his personal life created tension with the church. The greatest area of conflict, however, was James’ treatment of Jews and Muslims. James granted Muslim and Jewish communities certain privileges that they did not have under other European kingdoms. These communities were given political, judicial, and religious autonomy in exchange for paying taxes. In these communities, Jewish and Muslim religion and culture was freely practiced