Why was religion a life-or-death problem in Elizabethan England?
Activities Tell the story of Edmund Campion. Use visual sources to reinforce the story and the reasons for Campion’s execution. Ask pupils to speculate about why someone who professed loyalty to Elizabeth was executed. Reinforce with the story of the Puritan John Stubbs. Ask pupils to discuss why they think religion was so important in this period. Make a class list of reasons. Discuss why tolerance was rare and everyone was expected to belong to the state religion. Outcomes infer from the sources and the narratives why religious belief was so significant in the sixteenth century infer from the sources and narratives that religious beliefs and political structures were linked Objectives that religion was an important issue in the sixteenth century that religious tolerance was not common in the sixteenth century and that people were expected to belong to the state church or religion Points to note The purpose of this activity is to use a vivid story to grab the attention of the pupils.
