Declaration of Indulgence (1687)
The Declaration of Indulgence, also called Declaration for Liberty of Conscience,
The Declaration granted broad religious freedom in England by suspending penal laws enforcing conformity to the Church of England and allowing people to worship in their homes or chapels as they saw fit, and it ended the requirement of affirming religious oaths before gaining employment in government office.
By use of the royal suspending power, the king lifted the religious penal laws and granted toleration to the various Christian denominations, Catholic and Protestant, within his kingdoms. The Declaration of Indulgence was supported by William Penn, who was widely perceived to be its instigator.[3] The declaration was greatly opposed by Anglicans in England on both religious and constitutional grounds. Some Anglicans objected to the fact that the Declaration had no specified limits and thus, at least in theory, licensed the practice of any religion, including Islam, Judaism or paganism.[4]
1687
In Scotland,
The English version was welcomed by most non-conformists, but, as in Scotland, the Presbyterians were more reluctant to wholeheartedly accept it. There was concern that the toleration rested only on the King's arbitrary will.[8]
1688
The English Declaration of Indulgence was reissued on 27 April 1688, leading to open resistance from Anglicans. Few clergy read out the Declaration in Church.[9]
The declarations were voided when James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights abolished the suspending power.[12]
See also
References
- – via Oxford Academic.
- ^ Harris, Tim. Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarch, 1685–1720, Allen Lane (2006) p. 211
- ^ Lodge, Richard. The History of England – From the Restoration to the Death of William III 1660–1702 (1910) p. 268
- ^ Sowerby, Scott. Making Toleration: The Repealers and the Glorious Revolution. Harvard University Press (2013) p. 171
- ^ Harris, Tim. Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarch, 1685–1720, Allen Lane (2006) p. 173
- ^ The full text of Declaration of Indulgence at Wikisource
- ^ Armitage, David. British political thought in history, literature and theory, 1500–1800, Cambridge University Press (2006) pp. 95–96
- ^ Harris, Tim. Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarch, 1685–1720, Allen Lane (2006) p. 217
- ^ Fritze, Ronald H. and Robison, William B. (editors). Historical Dictionary of Stuart England, 1603–89, Greenwood Press (1996) p. 487
- ^ Miller, John. William and Mary, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1974) p. 87
- ^ Sowerby, Scott. Making Toleration: The Repealers and the Glorious Revolution. Harvard University Press (2013) pp. 33–35
- ^ Stat. 1 W. & M. sess. 2. c 2.
External links
- The full text of Declaration of Indulgence at Wikisource
- New International Encyclopedia. 1905. .