What Role Did Religion Play In The English Civil War

Moreover, as the Stuart monarchy became less useful to the bourgeoisie, it became more important to the aristocracy and courtiers, becoming their only means of economic survival – hence becoming the main reason to fight for it in the Civil War, since the monarchy was bound by the feudal order, the king himself was the greatest feudal lord. In the early sixteenth century the alliance between the crown and the parliament had been genuine. The monarchy had used the bourgeoisie as an ally against the other great feudal houses. The Parliamentary franchise was very restricted and the House of Commons represented the landed class and the merchants exclusively, while the House of Lords remained the more important chamber until the Commons seized the initiative in James I’s reign. However, by the last decade of
Religion played a major role in the outbreak of the English Revolution. It was part of a long conflict between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Charles I was deeply religious. He believed in the Divine Right of Kings. He preferred a High Anglican form of worship, with ceremonies, rituals and lavish ornamentation. Charles thought the hierarchy of bishops and priests to be important. This caused alarm for some Protestants as it appeared that Charles was favoring Catholicism. The rise of Protestantism after Henry's Reformation also created conditions for change. The bourgeois found a premise to legitimize their ideas of thrift and austerity. The Puritan movement in England also had a sound literary base and was further strengthened by the writings of men like Henry Burton. The fight to control the Church was of fundamental importance; whoever controlled its doctrine and organization was in a position to determine the nature of society; its customs would hence be in a position to organize