Declaration of Indulgence

This article is about the 1687 declaration of James II. For the 1672 declaration of Charles II, see Royal Declaration of Indulgence.

The Declaration of Indulgence or Declaration for Liberty of Conscience was a pair of proclamations made by James II of England and VII of Scotland in 1687. The Indulgence was first issued for Scotland on 12 February and then for England on 4 April 1687.[1] It was a first step at establishing freedom of religion in the British Isles, although the king's intention was to promote his own minority religion, Catholicism, reviled by most of his subjects.

The Declaration granted broad religious freedom in England by suspending penal laws enforcing conformity to the Church of England and allowing persons 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.[2] 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.[3] Many also objected to the fact that the king, by issuing the Declaration, had implicitly claimed a power to suspend laws passed by Parliament.

1687

In Scotland the Indulgence stated that subjects were to obey the King's "sovereign authority, prerogative royal, and absolute power" "without reserve". The Presbyterians initially refused to accept the Indulgence. The King re-issued it on 28 June giving the Presbyterians the same liberties as Roman Catholics; this was accepted by most of the Presbyterians with the notable exception of the extremist Covenanters.[4] The Indulgence, as well as granting religious liberties to his subjects, also reaffirmed the King as absolute.[5]

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.[6] The Anglican Church was greatly disturbed by it.

1688

The English Indulgence was reissued on 27 April 1688, leading to open resistance from Anglicans. Few clergy read out the indulgence in Church.[7] The Scottish Declaration was reaffirmed in a second proclamation in May 1688. Some Scottish Episcopalians refused to recognise the Indulgence.

William Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, and six other Bishops presented a petition to the King declaring the Indulgence illegal. James regarded this as rebellion and sedition and promptly had the seven bishops tried; however, the bishops were acquitted.[8] Many Presbyterians were sceptical of the king's intentions in proclaiming the Declaration, while other dissenters, including the Quakers and the Baptists, gave thanks to the king for the Indulgence.[9]

The Indulgences were voided when James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights abolished the suspending power.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Tim. Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarch, 1685–1720, Allen Lane (2006) p. 211
  2. ↑ Lodge, Richard. The History of England - From the Restoration to the Death of William III 1660–1702 (1910) p. 268
  3. ↑ Sowerby, Scott. Making Toleration: The Repealers and the Glorious Revolution. Harvard University Press (2013) p. 171
  4. ↑ Harris, Tim. Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarch, 1685–1720, Allen Lane (2006) p. 173
  5. ↑ Armitage, David. British political thought in history, literature and theory, 1500–1800, Cambridge University Press (2006) pp. 95–96
  6. ↑ Harris, Tim. Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarch, 1685–1720, Allen Lane (2006) p. 217
  7. ↑ Fritze, Ronald H. and Robison, William B. (editors). Historical Dictionary of Stuart England, 1603–89, Greenwood Press (1996) p. 487
  8. ↑ Miller, John. William and Mary, Weidenfeld and Nicholson (1974) p. 87
  9. ↑ Sowerby, Scott. Making Toleration: The Repealers and the Glorious Revolution. Harvard University Press (2013) pp. 33–35
  10. ↑ Stat. 1 W. & M. sess. 2. c 2.

External links

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