The Declaration of Indulgence, also called Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, was a pair of

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

s made by James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland in 1687. The Indulgence was first issued for Scotland on 12 February and then for England on 4 April 1687. An early step towards establishing

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

in Great Britain and Ireland, it was cut short by the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

. The Declaration granted broad religious freedom in England by suspending penal laws enforcing conformity to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

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 William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

, who was widely perceived to be its instigator. 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 Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, or

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

1687

In Scotland,

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

initially refused to accept the Declaration of Indulgence. The King re-issued it on 28 June, giving the Presbyterians the same liberties as Catholics; this was accepted by most of the Presbyterians, with the notable exception of the

Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

. The Declaration of Indulgence, as well as granting religious liberties to his subjects, also reaffirmed the King's "Soveraign Authority, Prerogative Royal and absolute power, which all our Subjects are to obey without Reserve", and thus espoused an absolute monarchy. 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.

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. William Sancroft,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, and six other Bishops presented a petition to the King declaring the Declaration of Indulgence illegal. James promptly had the

seven bishops The Seven Bishops were members of the Church of England tried and acquitted for seditious libel in the Court of Kings Bench in June 1688. The very unpopular prosecution of the bishops is viewed as a significant event contributing to the Novemb ...

tried for rebellion and sedition; however, the bishops were acquitted. Many

were sceptical of the king's intentions, while other

dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...

, including the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

and the

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, gave thanks to the king for the Declaration of Indulgence. The declarations were voided when James II was deposed in the

. The Bill of Rights abolished the suspending power.Stat. 1 W. & M. sess. 2. c 2.

References

External links

* *{{Cite NIE, wstitle=Declaration of Indulgence, short=x 1687 in law 1687 works 1687 in England 1688 in England 17th century in Scotland Christianity and law in the 17th century English laws History of Catholicism in England History of Catholicism in Scotland History of human rights English Reformation Quakerism in Scotland James II of England 1687 in religion 1688 documents

1687

1688

See also

References

External links