Elizabeth dismissed religion as a weak political motive.

Evidence

But it was hard for Elizabeth to believe in religion as an overmastering motive, except for a few crack-brained fanatics who might be annoying, but not dangerous. — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 776

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 776