3. The exclusion of Catholics from religious toleration

Question 1

The Toleration Act of 1650

Answer 1

• Removed the requirements to atoned an Anglican Church - but Catholics were still not given freedom
• 1640s - had been the key decade in the development of tolerationist ideas - grounded in radical Puritanism

Question 2

Roger Williams

Answer 2

Puritan theologian
1644 - opened the debate when his call for toleration included embracing heretics, blasphemers, Catholics and pagans - thought most Puritans disagreed w/ his view

Question 3

Laws against Catholics after 1640

Answer 3

First explicit law passed by the Long Parliament in Aug 1643

• Required all Catholics aged over 21 to swear an Oath of Abjuration denying their basic beliefs
• Refusal meant confiscation of 2/3 of their land and goods
• Catholics - also forced to pay the assessment tax at twice the normal rate
• The Oath reissued in 1656 - stricter terms and a call to close down Catholic chapels in foreign embassies - with a fine of £100 for those caught

Question 4

Catholics’ estates

Answer 4

Many had them confiscated after the Civil War - some left w/ no option but to conform

Question 5

Calls for religious freedom for Catholics

Answer 5

1652 - Henry Vale - wrote a pamphlet calling for religious freedom for Catholics - stated he wouldn’t extend to idolaters
- Most calls for sustained Catholic persecution cite the use of states and reverence of saints as a primary reason for their continued actions

Question 6

Cromwell issued an order in Jan 1654

Answer 6

• Stating that the laws against Catholics enacted under Elizabeth I and James I were to continue.
• Leading Catholics met w/ Cromwell to try and change his mind

Question 7

Cromwell - proclamation in April 1655

Answer 7

Demanding that the laws against Catholic influence in the priesthood be adhered to.

Question 8

September 1655 - report sent to Cromwell

Answer 8

Stated that 992 people refused to take Oath of Abjuration in Lancashire - far more than in any other country.

Question 9

How enforced were these anti-Catholic laws?

Answer 9

• Many reports of the authorities turning a blind eye to many practices

Question 10

Sir Kenelm Digby

Answer 10

A leading Catholic in the household of the exiled Henrietta Maria - friendly with Cromwell
- Visited London in 1654 - able to secure release of his family’s confiscated property

Question 11

Why wasn’t the problem of Catholic influence not the major focus of the political battles and religious tensions that dominated?

Answer 11

• If Catholics remained discreet - were able to worship privately
• The Irish Catholics endured a further invasion in 1649 - but the fighting was mainly between parliamentary and royalist armies
• Despite the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford - evidence of local records shows very few civilian deaths

Question 12

Restoration - Catholics in England

Answer 12

• In England - gained a measure of safety, in some cases a reward for faithful service - also a measure of religious freedom because there were other more immediate targets

Question 13

Restoration - Scotland

Answer 13

• Situation similar to England - with restored parliament dominated by nobility and concerned to restrict the power of the Kirk and suppress dissenters

Question 14

Restoration - Ireland

Answer 14

• Ireland overseen by a governor and the Church of Ireland restored
• Led to persecution of Catholics and dissenters w/ variable consistency