A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who

dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

s (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 a government, political party or religion.

Usage in Christianity

Dissent from the Anglican Church

In the social and religious history of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and, by extension,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the established church or any other kind of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

who refuses to recognise the supremacy of the established church in areas where the established church is or was

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

.. Originally, the term included English and Welsh

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

whom the original draft of the

Nonconformist Relief Act 1779 The Nonconformist Relief Act 1779 ( 19 Geo. 3. c. 44) was act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The act allowed any Dissenter to preach and teach on the condition that he declared he was a Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Chri ...

styled " Protesting Catholic Dissenters". In practice, however, it designates Protestant Dissenters referred to in sec. ii. of the Act of Toleration of 1689 (see

English Dissenters English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestants who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. English Dissenters opposed state interference in religious matters and founded their own churches, educationa ...

). The term recusant, in contrast, came to refer to Roman Catholics rather than Protestant dissenters.

Dissent from the Presbyterian Church

The term has also been applied to those bodies who dissent from the Presbyterian

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, which is the national church of Scotland. In this connotation, the terms ''dissenter'' and ''dissenting'', which had acquired a somewhat contemptuous flavor, have tended since the middle of the 18th century to be replaced by ''nonconformist'', a term which did not originally imply secession, but only refusal to conform in certain particulars (for example the wearing of the

surplice A surplice (; Late Latin ''superpelliceum'', from ''super'', "over" and ''pellicia'', "fur garment") is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to the kn ...

), with the authorized usages of the established church.

Dissent from state religion

Still more recently, the term ''nonconformist'' has in its turn, as the political attack on the principle of a state establishment of religion developed, tended to give way to the style of ''free churches'' and ''free churchman''. All three terms continue in use, ''nonconformist'' being the most usual, as it is the most colourless.

References

External links