chapter nineteen Flashcards
religion problems were not of Charles II own making rather it was the
conservative political nation as reflected in palriemant which sought to restore a church that matched their outlook
they also chose to ignore the diversity of religious views that had comes about since the
breakdown of the church of Englands authority in the 1640’s
Charles and claredon sought a broader church for the one they got , for example they allowed
the Savoy House Conference of 1661 , to convene which was an attempt to reach a compromise at the restoration between Presbyterians and anglicans
clerics from each side met to discuss the role of the bishops and prayer book , but
negotiations broke down
however it was the cavalier parliament politicians who
reimposed a rigid church model based on their own conservatism
bishops were reinstated in the hol
1000 Presbyterian minsters reigned or were removed
the cavalier parliament ordered MP’s to take
communion by anglican rite
the Church of England was thus reimposed as a part of
a conservative reaction
settlement was a reflection of cavalier or royalist gentry control over the church , with their control they
removed non anglicans
persecuted catholics and protestant dissenters
although over 1000 minsters were expelled at the restoration large scale dissent was still a reality :
the church of england could not claim to repress the nation
church had lead power to enforce its will because of the removal of the court of high commission and the decline of diocesan courts
it was therefore the local elite who had to enforce ocnfimrity but some justices of peace and deputy liteutnats were
dissenters themselves or sympathetic to those who would not conform to the church of England
generally dissent was stronger in urban settings whereas
the rural gentry remained more conservative , more typically anglican
Charles tried to secure toleration for catholics , there was a lords bill in 1662 to repeal some of the laws against Catholics , allowing catholic priests to register with the Secretary of State , charles strongly
supported the bill but it failed in both the lords and commons since the gerbil public was against any toleration for catholics
Charles policy towards protestant dissenters fluctuated with apparent threat , there were repressive measures after the regime came under threat :
the 1663 northern rising led to the 1644 conventicle act , which stated that the religious meeting of five people or more were forbidden , the initial punishment of a fine could on the third occasion reuse in transportation to exile
the second dutch war led to the 1665 five mile act , the five mile act meant that any preacher or teacher who refused the compulsory oaths that were part of the act of conformity 1662 could not go within five miles of any corporate or parish where they had tight
in 1670 a second conventicle act reinforced the persecution of dissenters and Charles even removed some JP’s were judged too lenient in acting against conventicle
although the king and claredon wanted a broader church settlement , the restoration religious settlement became paradoxically known as the
claredon code
the claredon code included the corporation act 1661 , which prevented
any person holding office in a corporation unless they accepted the terms of the restored code
the other measures in the claredon code were
the act of uniformity 1662
the conventicle act 1664
the five mile act 1665
nevertheless the restored Church of England was a broader church compared with
Charles I laudian domainated church and some very moderate Presbyterians were absorbed into the restoration church
what was also different about the restoration church was that it was , in effect under the control of
parliament rather than the king
thus in the years 1660-1688 the cavalier and tory angliciansim of many MP’s led to the
persecution of dissent
in both 1667 and 1668 comprehension bills were drafted by indvidual MP’s but they were not presented to the commons because
that body was predominantly against broadening the church settlement any further
statistics on dissenter numbers during this period come from the Compton consensus which was ordered by danby in
1676
the Compton consensus indicated that there were
100,000 dissenters out of an adult population of 2.25 million in england and Wales
however the numbers on the Compton consenus included only those regarded as hard line dissenters it has been estimated that
there was actually around 200,000-300,000
much of the anglican reaction to dissent was an over reaction to the knowledge that
dissent was widespread and would be impossible to wipe out
the impact of the interregnum and the restoration had actually generally made dissenters less
militant because they turned from focusing on outward political or religious changes to practicing their faith privately
for many protestant dissenters , the restoration of the monarch was interpreted as gods judgement on their cause for
dealing to establish godly rule in england after 1649
Charles who wanted a more comprehensive church did not seek to have the 1644 coneventicle act renewed , when the act expired in 1688 , dissenters could therefore
meet freely
in 1669 as a reaction to the lapsing of the conventicle act , the commons refused to grant Charles a subsidy of 300,000 , this led to a desired outcome, for in
1670 Charles allowed a more rigid conventicle act in return for parliamentary funds
on 15 march 1672 Charles issued a declaration of indulgence in england , in it Charles stated his
suspending power in relation to all the penal laws against catholics and dissenters
as a consequence if the preacher in charge of a church service had a royal licence , dissenters could worship in public
