rdfs:comment
| - In Scotland, he inherited a developing Reformation kirk, or church, which was attempting to rid the country of the remnants of Catholicism in the form of bishops, dioceses, and parishes and establish a fully Presbyterian system, run by ministers and elders. However, James saw the bishops as the natural allies of the monarchy and frequently came into conflict with the kirk in his sustained effort to reintroduce an episcopal polity to Scotland.
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abstract
| - In Scotland, he inherited a developing Reformation kirk, or church, which was attempting to rid the country of the remnants of Catholicism in the form of bishops, dioceses, and parishes and establish a fully Presbyterian system, run by ministers and elders. However, James saw the bishops as the natural allies of the monarchy and frequently came into conflict with the kirk in his sustained effort to reintroduce an episcopal polity to Scotland. On his succession to the English throne, James was impressed by the church system he found there, which still adhered to an episcopate and supported the monarch's position as the head of the church. On the other hand, there were many more Roman Catholics in England than in Scotland, and James inherited a set of penal laws which he was constantly exhorted to enforce against them. James exercised a degree of religious tolerance until the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, after which he reinforced strict penalties against Catholics; but he later returned to a tolerant approach to religious conformity. His policy of seeking a Spanish Match for his son, Charles, prince of Wales, produced widespread opposition, particularly in the Commons, where members feared a revival of Catholic power in the country and a threat to the Protestant monarchy and state.
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