2.2 Why did religious dissent and non-conformity increase in the years 1625-1688?

Question 1

9 themes Why did religious dissent and non-conformity increase in the years 1625-1688?

Answer 1

emergence of sects pre 1625
charles 1 and puritans
prebyterians
new model army
radicals
baptists and quakers
clarendon code
act of uniformity 1662
charles 2

Question 2

when did sects first begin to emerge (and details)

Answer 2

as early as 1381 Peasants revolt
european sects (eg Family of Love - later = quakers)
also Brownists and Barrowists
then 1604-1610 Archbishop Bancroft drove for uniformity = John Robinson, Henry Jacob and John Symth gathered a religious group separate from the church of england
exiled to holland
then traveled and set up in New England Colony 1620

Question 3

Charles 1 and puritans

Answer 3

john symth set up the general baptist movement - at least 5 churches existed with membership of 150 in 1620s
was already a small but well estblished tradition of puritanism
laud restricted preaching by imposing the use of a Catechism to set prayers and doctrine

Question 4

historians view on impact of laudian reforms

Answer 4

whig - wide opposition to forced catechism
-contributed to conflict between king and parliament
revisionist - ordinary members of the church generally welcomed the reforms
across the country rezction to laudian reforms varied due to strength of protestant / puritan support
clerical ejections and meetings outside the church did increase and at least 100 ministers emigrated to new england
extensive use of prerogative courts

Question 5

long parliament opposition were mainly…

Answer 5

puritan (eg; pym and hampden)
revisionist historians believe that those who opposed ship money would always have opposed charles because they were puritan (nothing to do with the financial situation)

Question 6

religious radicalism pre civil war

Answer 6

1616 Henry Jacob returned to england and founded a Congregationalist church in London

• by 1640 this had multiplied into 8 churches
• eve of civil war = 1,000 separatists in city of 350,000 (supposed centre of radicalism..)

Question 7

how civil war benefited religious radicals

Answer 7

breakdown of order
separatist groups became more attractive
radical ministers took on parish responsibilities
relative freedoms of the press
new model army
1647 - religious freedom and radical social change well publisied…

Question 8

post civil war religious radicals under the protectorate

Answer 8

freedoms given to Independents / Congregationalists
different orders of baptists had been allowed to become established
Baptists = national organisation and set up Confessions of Faith
even Presbyterians benefitted as could work within national church but also set up voluntary outside organisations

Question 9

religious radicals situation after cromwells death

Answer 9

Cromwell died 1658 = had tried to balance freedom and stability, mixed results
most dangerous political/religious sects had disappeared (fifth monarchists, diggers, ranters, shakers) as relied to heavily on a single charismatic leader
quakers = biggest concern as housed lots of the old members of other radical groups (Winstanley the digger and Lilburne the Leveller)
Nayler Case

Question 10

state of separatism in 1660

Answer 10

lay in 3 core groups
-Congregationalists
-Baptists
_quakers
total sum of separatists was dwarfed by numbers of Presbyterians (who still wanted national church)
Presbyterians probably most disturbed by the sects and clear desire for return to authority of both church and state

Question 11

Presbyterian Ministers actions in bringing back charles 2

Answer 11

John Shaw & Edward Bowles liased with Fairfax and Monck to arrange seizure of York (thus clearing way for moncks march to london)
1,200 deserters left lambert’s (NMA- parliament and independents) regiment and backed fairfax and Monck
Shaw and Bowles travelled to Breda
Shaw appointed royal Chaplain

Question 12

why did presbyterian ministers bring back charles 2

Answer 12

thought bringing back would bring back a national church

and presbyterians were desperate for a presbyterian national church

Question 13

development on non-conformity 1660-1669

Answer 13

Clarendon Code = uniformity of worship
bitterness and revenge from high church
directed at those who wanted to remain in the church rather than become a separatist movement (presbyterians)

Question 14

Clarendon Code - background

Answer 14

high church strategy to create uniformity (crated by/ under the earl of Clarendon
four acts over four years

Question 15

what were the four acts that made up the Clarendon Code

Answer 15

1661 - Corporation Act (impossible for non-conformists to hold municipal office)
1662 - Act of Uniformity (excluded non-conformists from church offices)
1664 - Conventicle Act (forbeyed meeting in private of dissenters groups)
1665 - Five Mile Act (drove non-conformists away by forcing ex-clergy to live 5 miles away from the parishes they had previously served)

Question 16

why was clarendon code special

Answer 16

different to other forms of persecution because
-scale and numbers of people effected
-motivated by bitterness and revenge
-directed primarily at those who wanted to remain in the church rather than establish a separate congregation
-was an attempt to purge the church
whilst there had been attempts to drive non-conformists out before the Act of Unfiormity, still had a significant impact

Question 17

Impact (numbers) of Act of Uniformity

Answer 17

1,000 ministers ejected in the summer of 1662 (1,800 over the whole of the clarendon code)
many refused to give up their ministries as they had so much support from their parish
some were employed by wealthy landowners (eg Ralph Ward from York)

Question 18

Improvements for dissenters in 1660s

Answer 18

by 1666 mood of revenge fading among cavalier parliament
1667 first conventicle act expired
new network of prebyterians were emerging
-minister like Thomas Jolly & Henry Root encouraged meetings between presbyterians and congregationalists
-1669 Richard Frankland (ejected presbyterian minister) founded an academy to train non-conformist clergy (all the clergy were getting old so in need of some new blood)
-1678 = first ordinations
-1689 = +100 new recruits had been trained)

Question 19

what did the improvements in dissenters in 1660s show?

Answer 19

organisation among dissenters

the average person tolerated dissenters (were just hated by revenge fueled cavalier parliament)

Question 20

difficulties for Quakers 1660s

Answer 20

persecuted heavily
1661-1664 quaker leaders arrested and imprisoned
- George Fox imprisoned Scarborough Castle 1664 kept in chains in isolation and frozen by cold and damp north sea (was released 1666)
-when released quakers on verge of collapse

Question 21

how Fox saved quakers from verge of collapse 1668

Answer 21

organised a meetnig in york to put together a new structure

• district monthly meetings
• annual meeting in london ran by a central committee
• turned quakers into a powerful and organised church

Question 22

Sheldon’s response to increased quaker impact end of 1660s

Answer 22

attempted to crack down
passed Second Conventicle Act 1670 but impact was limited
reflected how organised dissenters had become that an act could no longer destroy them
also reflected the fact most people were bored of persecuting dissenters

Question 23

sympathy for dissenter 1660s

Answer 23

growing especially in the upper classes
1669 - 2 judges (Bridgeman and Hale) with support of the bishop of chester tried to introduce a revision for the act of uniformity allowing for ‘comprehension’ of most dissenters within the church (eg allow most dissenters back into the church)
lattitudinarians (eg bishop john wilkins) argued persecution was irrational and counterproductive)
many who conformed in 1664 did so with little enthusiasm, nit understanding why so many were being perseuted

Question 24

what did charles do after the fall of Clarendon

Answer 24

1667 - appointed a group of close advisors inc 2 catholics, 1 near atheist, 2 moderate puritans = challenged the high church anglicans in parliament
1672 - decleration of indulgence = suspended conventicle act and other persecuting laws
didnt last long (as war with dutch = money) but gave disenters breathing space until repealed 1673 (eg had gained lisences which werent removed until 1675, also buildings were built and worship began= now impossible to remove dissenters)

Question 25

Why was there renewed persecution in 1680s

Answer 25

politically motivated
popish plot & exclusion crisis = alliance between whigs and dissenters
failure of rye house plot 1682-3nand collapse of whigs = charles freedom to persue own agenda (inc breaking links between dissenters and whigs)
1683-6 = some of worst persecution (showed what royal determination could achieve)

Question 26

why did dissenters survive all the periods of persecution

Answer 26

charles died 1686 and persecution ended with his death
(would the groups have lasted if charles had of lived longer?)
main factors in their survival
- commitment to their beliefs
- level of support given by sympathizers
- mistakes made by their enemies (eg defining uniformity so narrowly kicked out masses from the church)