[Super Cicero]

Today in Britain there are over 5 million Roman Catholics. As I understand it, once Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, the Anglican church became the official church again, and from then onwards up to the Catholic Relief Act of 1829, Catholics were highly discriminated against and strongly encouraged to convert to Protestantism, so that the vast majority of people were, by the start of the 19th century, Protestant.

So who are the 5 million Catholics in Britain today descended from (ignoring those who live in Northern Ireland)? Are they all descended from immigrants from Catholic Ireland, as well as Catholics fleeing the French Revolution, and the recent influx of Catholic Polish immigrants? Or are most British Catholics actually descended from English/Welsh/Scottish people who remained Catholic following the Reformation and managed to continue practicing their religion despite persecution?

[jennipenny]

There were pockets of Britain where despite persecution many remained Roman Catholic - this is particularly true of Lancashire, parts of Cumbria and parts of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. There were some prominent aristocratic families that refused to convert to protestantism and if you lived in their areas there was a degree of protection. But outside of those areas most British Catholics are of Irish descent either directly or through marriage. There are also clusters of Catholics of other national backgrounds eg lots of Italians in Scotland, Poles from WWII as well as more recently etc.

[Snagprophet]

My dad comes from a Catholic family which also has an English name, so I just assume that most were just subtle. I mean, if you look at all the ancient Catholic churches we still have all over the place it doesn't look like anyone' done a particularly good job at eradicating Catholicism.

[Historiana]

Some English Catholics 'outwardly conformed' as Anglicans whilst Catholics were being persecuted. They'd secretly practise their faith at home, but would for all legal intents, remain Anglican to avoid the wrath of the law.

As someone else has said, if you were rich then you could practise almost openly as a Catholic. In the 1660s, for example, Charles II was surrounded by Catholics who remained immune to prosecution. Even James, Duke of York (later James II, overthrown for his catholicism) was able to convert. Outside of royal, ducal circles or the aristocracy; officials could be bribed. You could bribe those that checked your attendance at church etc, or your home, to look the other way and would be left in peace.

Essentially, from the 17th century onwards the anti-Catholic fervour died down. People learned how to hide their faith, and after the Civil war the people cried for toleration in matters of religion. It came gradually. The government and church knew stability and peace was needed after the Restoration, and it led to Catholics rising in prominence again. There were spells like the Popish Plot, where catholics were targeted by politicians and extremist groups, but the examples were rare. The population as a whole didn't hate catholicism and it became more and more difficult (and politically impossible) for the restrictions of faith to be maintained.

[Veni Vidi Fugi]

The impact of the reformation was fairly limited outside the cities across Europe, anyway. Protestantism is an essentially urban faith which didn't really connect with the primarily agricultural rural society. So yeah, it's pretty unsurprising that Anglicanism, which has Catholic elements too, failed to make much progress in displacing Catholicism outside of the cities. The continued Catholicism of the nobility also gave it a legitimacy and basis for support, which was probably necessary because Catholics need priests to administer the Sacraments.

I think the laws that restricted Catholics' rights to do certain things, such as get an Oxbridge degree, oddly enough contributed to the overall stability of the Catholic position, in that they constituted a legal recognition, of sorts.

[Super Cicero]

(Original post by Veni Vidi Fugi)
The impact of the reformation was fairly limited outside the cities across Europe, anyway. Protestantism is an essentially urban faith which didn't really connect with the primarily agricultural rural society. So yeah, it's pretty unsurprising that Anglicanism, which has Catholic elements too, failed to make much progress in displacing Catholicism outside of the cities.

I think this might be a bit of an exaggeration, as virtually all rural villages in England have an Anglican parish church, where as many don't have a Catholic one.

[gutenberg]

(Original post by Super Cicero)
I think this might be a bit of an exaggeration, as virtually all rural villages in England have an Anglican parish church, where as many don't have a Catholic one.

The interesting thing about the Anglican church is that, post-Civil War, it never had even a majority following: there were Catholics of course, but also Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers who had emerged during the 1640s and 1650s, and then in later centuries groups like the Methodists emerged. When a census was taken in the Victorian age (I forget the year!), the authorities were quite shocked by the 'state' of the Anglican church!

As for your original question, a significant proportion of people never embraced Protestantism, especially in more northern counties (check out the Pilgrimage of Grace against Henry VIII), and as others have mentioned there were several aristocratic families who remained Catholic, such as the Percies of Northumberland, and when they remained Catholic their retainers, followers, tenants etc tended to as well, as was the case with other great noble families. Over time these English Catholics have been 'supplemented' so to speak with generations of emigrant Irish, French, Italians, Poles etc, which boosts their numbers.

[xander93]

(Original post by jennipenny)
There were pockets of Britain where despite persecution many remained Roman Catholic - this is particularly true of Lancashire, parts of Cumbria and parts of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. There were some prominent aristocratic families that refused to convert to protestantism and if you lived in their areas there was a degree of protection. But outside of those areas most British Catholics are of Irish descent either directly or through marriage. There are also clusters of Catholics of other national backgrounds eg lots of Italians in Scotland, Poles from WWII as well as more recently etc.

The North West has typically seen a large Irish immigrant population over the past few centuries, so you're bang on there. Britain is pretty much a country of immigrants (I'm saying that as a positive thing) so it's a surprise there isn't more of every type.

[pr0view]

I would reckon the majority are from Celtic origins, either scots and welsh folk who never converted or Irish immigrants.

[FrescoDiMorte]

Most of the catholics in this country are mainly from european countries catholicism is the biggest cristian branch in every country except the USA and most of the UK and I think russia and a few of the countries near to russia.