An inescapable factor in every aspect of Elizabethan life was the ever- present sense of the ever- present possibility of sin. People's sinfulness was the greatest threat to order. The Elizabethans were neurotically alert to the temptations surrounding life. The conflicting Christian sects may have differed violently about matters of doctrine – ritual, liturgy, ornament, transubstantiation, confession and so on – but they shared basic beliefs when it came to right and wrong. Man was perpetually open to sin and temptation was all around him. The Devil was to be defied, and Christ was man's redeemer and the way to salvation. The moral bases of life were agreed.

The Ten Commandments (abridged from Exodus 20:19)

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

10. Thou shalt not covet […] any thing that is thy neighbour's.

The Seven Deadly Sins

1. Pride (arrogance, vanity, vainglory, hubris)

2. Wrath (anger, violence)

3. Lust (lechery, wantonness, lasciviousness)

4. Envy (covetousness)

5. Greed (avarice)

6. Gluttony (including drunkenness)

7. Sloth (laziness, despair)

Sin and Satan were as much a part of religious consciousness as the desire to emulate Jesus and live virtuously. The church's cultural monopoly meant even those indifferent to religion would acknowledge that faith was the common, underlying feature of life at all levels. The passing year was marked by religious festivals, each day was punctuated by aspects of faith, the parish church bell indicated the times of services, pious families gathered for morning and evening prayers and individuals might visit the church during the day. Schoolboys had communal classroom prayers with their teacher. A master craftsman, his journeymen and apprentices might start the working day with prayers.