Elizabeth I of England and Isabella I of Spain both had religious policies geared toward building their country’s nationalism and their absolutism. The difference between each of their policies was in the way they tried to achieve them. This essay will compare and contrast the religious policies of two great women: Elizabeth and Isabella.
When she came into power in 1558, Elizabeth had inherited a difficult religious problem from her half-sister Mary. Before she died, Mary had tried to restore England into a Catholic nation. Elizabeth knew through experience and observation that the only way to unify her country and strengthen her seat on the throne was to create a religious policy that was based on moderation and compromise.