Sarah Kauffmann

The Emergence of Religious Tolerance in London

Although in the present day London can call itself part of a United Kingdom, centuries ago the city was far from united. By the end of the seventeenth century, anti-popery was the strongest emotional force in England. Anti-Popery refers to a person, group, or belief that’s against the Roman Catholic Church.[1] For centuries the English Church had a direct connection with papacy. There were several attempts during the medieval period for an English King to limit this Catholic power. However, they were unsuccessful until the Sixteenth Century. Henry VIII broke loose of the Roman Catholic Church, beginning an avalanche of reformation. In the period following, England saw great change in terms of religion and where that fell into society. Some rulers asked for absolute power, and some ruled with tolerance and moderation. All together, there was great conflict concerning whether England should be Anglican, Protestant, Catholic, or any other religion. This, and other conflicts, led to a civil war in the seventeenth century. Although it took many years, England emerged from the “glorious revolution” as a nation that was tolerant of many different religions. Several of religions gained popularity, or harvested believers in ways that London had never seen before. Essentially, different religions lead to a more diverse social structure in London helping their political, economic and social bodies.

A period of great reformation and change began during the reign of Henry VIII. Coming to the throne in 1509, this king was determined to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragón because of her inability to produce a male heir. However, the pope of the time, Pope Clement VII, refused to annul their marriage. This inspired Henry to enact the ancient right of the Christian prince or monarch to exercise supremacy over the affairs of the church in his domain.[2] He persuaded parliament to enact a series of statues. These denied that the pope had any jurisdiction or power over the Church of England. Although it was quite radical, Henry received large support for these changes. He had the support of the overwhelming majority primarily because there had been no drastic changes made to the catholic faith and practices that England was accustomed to. There were no changes concerning theology, ceremony, and/or doctrine. However “in the eyes of those around him (and doubtless in his own eyes, too) he embodied the Reformation in England.”[3] Henry VIII had begun the transition of faith from the Roman Catholic Church. However, London had received only its first taste of religious reformation.

After Henry’s death, and during the reign of Edward VI, there was a great deal more of strong religious reform. In 1549 the first Anglican Book of Common Prayer was published. Under the Act of Uniformity it required that the English Clergy practice and this prayer book in their preaching. Three years later, in 1552, the second prayer book was published. This one more strongly reflected continental Protestantism. Both books were produced by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer who wished to have a religious reformation as well as an administrative one. Shortly afterward, the Forty-Two articles were born. These were a doctrinal statement that had a similar tone to those of the first and second prayer books. For the first time, the Church of England had its creed. All of these formal statements induced rapid changes. This aroused a great deal of opposition within England, setting the stage for a ruler to recover traditional religious practices.

Mary intended to permanently return England to Roman Catholicism, but did just the opposite. Once coming to power in 1553, all of the separation that had been created between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Church was negated. She was determined to obliterate Protestantism. During her three years as queen she aroused a great deal of opposition, partially because of her violent techniques. Mary burned over three hundred protestant heretics. Procedures like these earned her the nickname “bloody Mary.” England was also outraged at her marriage to Philip II. This future king of Spain was strongly disliked. It was Mary’s foreign policy, possibly based on her marriage, which further distanced the British from their queen. “England was more Protestant by the end of her reign than it had been at the beginning.”[4] Once again, Mary had prepared the nation for a sweeping change in religion.

In succession to Mary, her sister, Elizabeth, indeed swept the nation with change. One of the first things that she accomplished once ascending to the throne in 1558 was to pass laws that made the church of England Protestant once more. She did this by a new Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity.[5] This made her “the only supreme governor” of state and church. One aspect of her rein that made it quite unique was her tolerance. It was this queen’s belief that it did not matter what the British believed in their hearts so long as they followed Protestant outward practices. “She expected, indeed she commanded, her subjects to conform publicly to the strictures of the Church of England, but she didn't scrutinize too closely the beliefs they held in their hearts.”[6] Elizabeth addressed religious issues with moderation and compromise. She even revised some aspects of Protestantism so that it was more acceptable to the Catholics. By having no children Queen Elizabeth ended the line of Tudor monarchs. It was also the end of her years of tolerance and moderation in England.

Following these years, James I of England agitated the friction between religions and alienated important groups from the monarch. Already King of Scotland, James came to England implying that he would continue with the policies of Elizabeth’s reign. However, he was “woefully ignorant of the delicate workings of the Tudor political system and not suited by temperament for the hard work or gifted with the political adroitness needed to keep that system going.”[7] The British soon became skeptical as he diverged from their former queen. During his reign he began what some refer to as “Stuart absolutism.” James espoused the divine rights as a king. This refers to “the belief that kings receive their power directly from God and are responsible to no one except God.”[8] With the king so attached to these divine rights, he alienated himself from Parliament. England was used to the monarch and parliament ruling together, and their distance was startling. He attempted to ease the religion conflicts by taking power from the religious bodies and putting into the political bodies. To do this he enforced superiority of state over church and reduced the power of the great Roman Catholic nobles. He married a protestant so for a number of years he was inclined to favor the Protestants. However, later in his reign he repressed them just as strongly as he had the Roman Catholics. James strongly defended the Anglican Church and this alienated him from the Puritans. This was a group of Protestants within the Church of England. They were determined to diminish popery from the Anglican Church. A great number of puritans were of the nobility, the gentry, were a part of the House of Commons, or were even in a lower house in Parliament. Therefore, by alienating the Puritans, James had lost the support of a great and powerful group. During his years as king, James tried to ease religious friction. However, this era was characterized by “Conflict, not consensus.”[9] England was questioning not only religion, and the amount of toleration that should be associated, but also the use of Parliaments power. These frictions, that James agitated, would lead England further into conflict.

The nation went through years of struggle in order to emerge from this state of conflict. During years when James I and his son Charles I had held the throne, deep rifts and disagreements had formed. Some of these were what lead England into a Civil War. There was the constitutional issue between King Charles, who claimed to rule by divine right, and Parliament that demanded privileges and rights that were independent of the crown. Parliament wanted these privileges to gain sovereignty. Although this highlights the political side, the English Civil War was also a greatly religious war. Sometimes, it’s even referred to as the Puritan Revolution. This is because one side was primarily composed of Puritans. These were the Roundheads who mostly favored the oppressed or the poor. The other side was known as the Cavaliers. They supported King Charles and were primarily made up of noble families and the country gentry. By defeating the Cavaliers, the Roundheads abolished episcopacy. However, the end of the English Civil war did not mean the end of political or religious conflict. The Stuarts came back to power, putting Charles II onto the throne. Similarly to his ancestors, his years as king were characterized by dissatisfaction in parliament and religious friction. The British were suspicious that Charles was attempting to return England to absolutism. His brother, James II, found his time as king to be quite short. Shortly after he became king in 1685 he openly avowed himself to Catholicism. It was obvious to the people of Britain that he was going to attempt to increase Catholicism’s place in England. Tory and Whig leaders encouraged and invited Mary and William of Orange to seize the British throne. They did so beginning the “Glorious Revolution.” James II fled to France, just three years after becoming King. This revolution did not involve bloodshed, like most revolutions imply. It was carried out in the form of several legal enactments. These would later establish Great Britain’s constitutional system. The Glorious Revolution also marked a great turning point in England’s history. It marked peace to a lot of conflicts that had continued over centuries. This includes the conflicts concerning religion. “Religious uniformity had given way to religious toleration.”[10] After centuries of conflict and struggle, England had emerged a nation that could accept different religions.

One of the many different religions that London hosted was a large community of Huguenots. Around 40,000-50,000 had fled from France to England. The peak of their immigration was during the late 1680’s. In general, the Huguenots were welcomed by the rest of London. They reinforced anti-popery sentiments persuading the English that the Catholic Monarch could not be trusted. They helped bring about the glorious revolution by persuading the people of London that James II could endanger their liberties. Many of these refugees had lost everything in their escape and/or migration. Mary and William were sympathetic to that and often donations were held in their honor. The Huguenots were economically self-sufficient. Most were urban artisans mainly in textile trade. They helped both the military and the bank. Huguenot regiments gave the army a boost in power through their increase in numbers and military expertise. The newly established bank of England prospered from the finances that came from the war. The Huguenots also gave a boost to London’s morality at a time when crime and immorality was running ramped. They were a community beset by human foibles, often described as being “models of moral probity.”[11] Naturally, there were the inevitable Englishmen who did not like the Huguenots. Some believed that they were taking their jobs or did not respect their religion. Parliament did not grant them full naturalisation. This meant that they could not bequeath land to heirs. However, the Huguenots were assimilated relatively well into the rest of London Society. Some even anglicized their names. For example a name might be changed from Charpentier to Carpenter.[12] The Huguenots were one of many communities that added to London’s diversity.

Although most were fairly accepted, some groups, like the Jews, were not treated with such respect. The Jews received prejudice and suspicion. They were even exiled from England for a long period of time. Upon their invitation to return in the 1650’s, the Jews received exceptional taxation. They had no political rights and could not hold an estate of inheritance in land. However, they were good for London’s economics. The Jews were good with business and were fantastic money-lenders, jewelers and manuscripts. Their Jewish quarter proved the difficulty there was integrating this community into London’s social scene.

Although there were a few exceptions, London accepted a great deal of different religions within their social system. This diversity had large effects on London’s society, economy, and history. Queen Elizabeth had set the tone for this toleration and moderation. It was the techniques she used that lead England to such prosperity during her time as queen. “Her flexibility, in turn, had nurtured a spirit and expectation of tolerance among her subjects that her successors could not repress.”[13] Although there was a great deal of conflict after her reign, following the glorious revolution there was great stability because of their tolerance. “The resolution of these issues restored Great Britain’s internal stability and provided a basis for its rapid advance to the status of world power.”[14] From there London was ready to boom into the economic powerhouse that it still is today. The diversity of the different religious groups brought a lot of different people to London. As a result there was a wide range of skills and bodies that could be put to work. By accepting so many different religion, London became a city that was open to new ideas. These ideas bettered society as time went along. London was a city that was bettered by its tolerance for different religions inside its society.

Although it struggled for many years, the emergence of London as a religiously tolerant made it part of the wonderful city we know today. Although for centuries it was under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, Henry VIII freed the English from the grasp of the Pope. Reformation shook the nation for years as more and more ideas were thrown into the mix. Mary tried to return the country to their Catholicism, but in doing so made the country even more Protestant than it was when she became queen. Elizabeth ruled with tolerance and moderation, which proved to be a success. However, James I and Charles I ruled with absolutism, espousing their divine rights as king. This, and other rifts within society, caused the English Civil war. With the Glorious revolution England found internal stability through religious toleration. As a result of this toleration London could boast many different religious groups, who contributed to their economy and society. The city became so prosperous economically and culturally because of the different people they harvested. Although it was technically not part of a United Kingdom yet, London was certainly a city that was united by its accepting society.

[1] Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language

[3] Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired

[4] World History Volume Two: Since 1500 (third edition)

[6] “A queen who shaped era and image; The Huntington focuses on the legend of England's

Elizabeth I, a towering monarch and public relations genius”

[9] “Government by Polemic: James I, the King's Preachers, and the Rhetoric’s of Conformity, 1603-1625”

[13] Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired