Religion: conflict and dissent Terms

Presbyterians

A protestant denomination where the church is governed by elders of officials rather than bishops

Arminianism

Beliefs rejecting the Calvinist doctrines of predestination and believed that free will is compatible with God’s sovereignty

Episcopacy

Government of the church by bishops

Anglicanism

The national church of England with the Sovereign as the head of the church

Quakers

A christian sect founded by George Fox promoting social reform and held a doctrine of inner light. rejected ritualistic elements of catholicism and held meetings where any member could speak

Dissenters

Those that disassociated themselves with the Church of England

Baptists

A protestant sect believing in freedom of conscience, separation of church and state, and baptism of only voluntary adult believers

Latitudinarians

A group of moderate Anglican christians desiring a flexible regime accommodating for numerous beliefs

Fifth Monarchists

A small group of very radical Christians believing that the second coming would occur in 1666

Laudinism

The policies and practices of William Laud

William Laud

A royal favourite advocating for the divine right of kings. He became bishop of London in 1628 then Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633. Laud criticised the Calvinist nature of the church of England so introduced reforms

York house conference

requested by puritan nobleman Earl of Warwick to prevent religious pressure in parliament, the conference aimed to persuade Charles away from the anti-Calvinist arminians. Buckingham, the head of the conference, sided with anti-calvinist William Laud to maintain favour of the king. It showed puritans that Charles, who didn’t even show up, was not willing to end support of anti-calvinist arminians.

Scottish national covenant + rebellion

After the English prayer book attempted to impose anglican rule the scots were angered and resisted.

first Bishops’ war

Angered by the resistance, Charles gathered troops and marched up to Scotland however lacked funds and confidence so ended with the treaty of Berwick agreeing to leave the scots alone.

second Bishops’ war

after the failure of short parliament to raise money, Charles raised his own expedition yet the scottish still had military success. It ended with the Treaty of Ripon which forced Charles to pay them £850 a day and stop invasion attempts

Root and Branch petition

Soon becoming an act of the same name, this sparked a parliamentary debate over the abolishment of the episcopacy yet it was defeated when more pressing issues became apparent

19 propositions

Included directions on the education of royal children to ensure they were not Catholic. This would have made Charles a constitutional monarch

Oath of Abjuration

all Catholics aged over 21 were forced to deny basic beliefs

blasphemy act

aimed to curb religious extremism by making it against the law to deny God’s being or make fun of holy scriptures

James Naylor case

this quaker reenacted the arrival of Christ to Jerusalem by riding horseback into Bristol attended by followers. In a highly publicised trial, He was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison, hard labour, ‘B’ branding, whipping, and tongue pierced with a hot iron

Venner’s uprising

50 fifth monarchists dressed in armour marched to st Paul’s in London to depose Charles II and replace him with Jesus. It was put down quickly but it influenced the next election resulting in a conservative, royalist cavalier parliament.

corporation act

This stopped dissenters from holding municipal office resulting in anglican control of the Church and local Government.

quaker act

All quakers had to swear an oath of allegiance to the church or face heavy penalties, however quakers did not swear oaths.

George Fox

Quaker leader and reformer. He was imprisoned in 1664 and released two years later. He travelled the country to restore organisation and held a meeting in York to discuss proposals for a new structure including a central committee. This allowed Quakers to become more organised

Act of uniformity

This narrowed the definition of Anglicanism increasing the quantity of dissenting groups

conventicle act

No more than 5 people over 16 could meet for religious reasons unless it was Anglican. This was passed after the high church party found that congregations were still meeting unofficially.

5 mile act

This forced dissenters away from support groups by not allowing them to be within 5 miles of original congregations

test act

This was forced by parliament as opposition to Charles II’s Declaration of Indulgence. This forced all those who wanted to hold office to swear an oath to the king and to the Anglican church as well as deny key aspects of the Catholic doctrine. This forced James to resign from his admiralty post.

declaration of indulgence (1)

In response to the clarendon codes, Charles attempted to extend religious liberties by giving more freedoms outside of the church of England

Declaration of indulgence (2)

gave Catholics and dissenters the right to worship freely

trial of seven bishops

7 bishops refused to preach a sermon which would give more rights to catholics and dissenters. they were tried but eventually acquitted causing public celebration

Richard Frankland

this presbyterian founded an academy to provide education for potential future members of the clergy which allowed for the rebuilding and reorganisation of dissenting organisations

Prerogative courts

the monarch’s private courts which included the star chamber and were not limited to common law procedures.

triers and ejectors

These were introduced by Cromwell to improve the quality off church ministers. The first group was to vet all new clergy whilst the second to expel scandalous or insufficient ministers.

popish plot

A conspiracy invented by priest Titus Oates alleging that there was a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate the King that led to the executions of at least 22 Catholic men and the exclusion crisis.

Godden V Hales

A legal case that decided if the monarch could possess the power to dispense individuals from religious laws. They found it in favour meaning that James could give more freedoms to specific Catholics.

Laudian reforms

Appearance: ritualistic music and decorations were encouraged and the alter was placed behind rails to respect and protect it. These were very Catolic changes and recalled catholic mass arguably based on superstitious ideas about transubstantiation

Services: weekday preaching was banned and preaching in general was restricted to reciting catechisms. This created law and order in the churches and reduced scope for individual views to bring greater unity to the Anglican church. Protestants viewed this as leaving people in ignorance and encouraged outer appearance of faith rather than inner faith.

Newcastle propositions

After the king was captured, Parliament offered these up in negotiations. Among other things it wanted to establish a presbyterian church system in England for 3 years. Charles rejected it

Heads of Proposals

The army became a political threat after it was disbanded so Cromwell offered up the representation of the army demanding the expulsion of 11 presbyterian mps, reasonable religious toleration and establishment of a presbyterian church system for three years followed by a national church settlement.

the engagement

Leading to the second civil war, this was an agreement between Charles I and the Scots in exchange for Scottish military support Charles promised to adopt presbyterianism in England and Scotland

Restoration

The convention parliament established the Church of England, restored bishops and created a hope for a broad and tolerant church. However fear of radicals resulted in the election of a conservative cavalier parliament ben ton revenge on dissenters. there was little agreement in the savoy house conference leaving the future of the Anglican church in the hands of the high church as a result, the new appointed bishops began to ordain new ministers and recreate the structure of the anglican church.

Bishop John Wilkins

A prominent figure in government that thought the persecution of dissenters was unacceptable, irrational and counter productive. He held latitudinarian views. This shows there was support for dissenters at the highest levels.

Act of Parliament

called for the closing of catholic chapels in foreign embassies with a fine of £100 for anyone caught worshipping there

Rye house plot

focussed fears on dissenters rather that catholicism

Charles I

supported Arminianism and had a Catholic wife Henrietta Maria. Increases fears of Catholicism

Charles II

aimed for a broad and tolerant church however fears of catholicism and radical religious groups caused the narrowing of the Anglican definition. Converted to Catholicism on his deathbed as a result of the treaty of Dover

James II

Catholic, and upon the birth of his Catholic heir resulted in the glorious revolution. not trusted by dissenters despite introducing a declaration of indulgence

Oliver Cromwell

A puritan who widely believed in a limited form of religious tolerance. he aimed to improve society in a godly reformation