Editing Gunpowder Plot (section)

===Religion in England===
{{Main|English Reformation}}
{{See also|Catholic Church in England and Wales}}
[[File:Elizabeth I George Gower.jpg|thumb|alt=A three-quarter portrait of a middle-aged woman wearing a tiara, bodice, puffed-out sleeves, and a lace ruff. The outfit is heavily decorated with patterns and jewels. Her face is pale, her hair light brown. The backdrop is mostly black.|[[Elizabeth I]], queen from 1558 to 1603]]

Between 1533 and 1540, [[King Henry VIII]] took control of the English Church from Rome, the start of several decades of religious tension in England. English Catholics struggled in a society dominated by the newly separate and increasingly [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Church of England]]. Henry's daughter, [[Queen Elizabeth I]], responded to the growing religious divide by introducing the [[Elizabethan Religious Settlement]], which required anyone appointed to a public or church office to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church and state. The penalties for refusal were severe; fines were imposed for [[recusancy]], and repeat offenders risked imprisonment and execution. Catholicism became marginalised, but despite the threat of torture or execution, priests continued to practise their faith in secret.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haynes|2005|p=12}}</ref>