Queen Elizabeth I and Henry IV were both poltiques of their day, however both used their power as a politique to promote a distinct religious standpoint. From the onset as Queen, Elizabeth was forced to deal with the ramifications of a religiously divided country, which was caused by her father Henry VIII’s separation with the Roman Catholic Church. Elizabeth, wanting to subordinate religious to political unity, centralized the Episcopal system by taking a middle of the road stance between the Catholics and the Protestants. While she secured the traditional Catholic ritual, at the same time she also was able to define the protestant doctrine. This middle of the road approach wa

s the inspiration for the birth of the Anglican Church. However Elizabeth was not without bias, her favor towards Protestants motivated her to draft the Act of Supremacy, which repealed all anti-protestant legislation that had once been instated by Mary I. The majority of Elizabeth’s religious struggles came from religious extremist groups such as the Puritans, who felt Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, should replace Elizabeth. Elizabeth countered such Catholic extremists with the Conventicle Act of 1593, stating that separatists who resisted accepting the practices of the Church of England faced exile or execution. Henry IV was also a politique, placing political accord above religious unity. However Henry had strong favoritisms towards Catholics, despite his Protestant upbringing. His royal tolerance of Catholicism to achieve peace appalled Protestants. Henry went further to disavow the Protestant faith and proclaim that, “Paris is worth a mass.” Henry embraced the Roman Catholic Religion in hopes of ending the civil wars occurring in France. Henry, like Elizabeth, passed religious acts which recognized the rights of specific religious groups. In Elizabeth’s case, she instituted the Act of Supremacy recognizing Protestants. In Henry IV circumstance, he established the Edict of Nantes, w

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