What was with the continued British Royal flirtation with Catholicism, or Catholics?

raharris1973

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why were multiple Stuarts drawn to Catholicism like a moth to the flame, ruining their political prospects?

I mean they were enthroned in a system where they were head of the church, yet several wanted to renounce that role in favor of the Pope?

Was it just a series that of random consequences of childhood educations and upbringings?

Did the Stuarts feel the need to be part of a religious institution larger than themselves, with an authority they could look up to?

Was there a covert Catholic influence campaign targeting them?

After the Stuarts, monarchs of later dynasties were no longer trying to restore Catholicism or convert to it, but Hanoverian Kings and Princes sure seemed to have a thing for Catholic mistresses. Was this pattern just an irresistible attraction to the forbidden fruit?
 

raharris1973

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Thoughts? I guess I stand by the “yearning for a higher power” theory for the Stuarts and the “forbidden fruit” theory for the Hanoverians,
 
Well you also have to consider the strength of High Anglicanism as introduced by Henry which was essentially Catholicism without the Pope. If one sees replacing the Pope as a mere political aspect then it's easy to see why putting the Pope back in could be considered straightforward, a return to status quo.
With the strong imposition of the Catholic counter-reformation and Anglicanism having taken up several Protestant ideals as core - such as the vernacular language etc - and the lowlands of Scotland going protestant (Presbyterian) converting back became a political liability.
 
It's important to remember that Charles II and James II (who were the two who actually were Catholic, either openly or covertly) had spent a good chunk of their early life in Catholic France, surrounded by Catholics. So it's unsurprising that it would have rubbed off on them (especially since they had seen a bunch of fanatical Protestants chop off their dad's head, which probably left a bad impression). So they were somewhat sui generis.
 
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