Restoration England 1660-1685Topic Summary
Knowledge Organiser: The Religious Settlement, 1661-1673
This topic summary covers Knowledge Organiser: The Religious Settlement, 1661-1673 within Religious Settlement for GCSE History. Revise Religious Settlement in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 4 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 15 of 15 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 15 of 15
Practice
8 questions
Recall
4 flashcards
Knowledge Organiser: The Religious Settlement, 1661-1673
Key Terms
- Clarendon Code: Four Acts (1661-65) persecuting Protestant Dissenters — Corporation, Uniformity, Conventicle, Five Mile
- Nonconformists/Dissenters: Protestants refusing to conform to Church of England — Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers (~5% of population)
- Test Act (1673): Required public officeholders to take Anglican communion and deny Catholicism — exposed James as Catholic
- Declaration of Indulgence: Charles's two failed attempts (1662, 1672) to suspend penal laws against Dissenters and Catholics
- Recusancy: Refusal to attend Church of England — technically illegal for Catholics but unevenly enforced
Key Dates
- 1661: Corporation Act — Dissenters excluded from local government
- 1662: Act of Uniformity — 2,000 ministers ejected (Black Bartholomew's Day)
- 1664: Conventicle Act — illegal meetings of 5+ outside Church
- 1665: Five Mile Act — ejected ministers kept from towns
- 1672: Charles's Declaration of Indulgence — suspended penal laws
- 1673: Parliament forces withdrawal of Declaration; passes Test Act
- 1673: James resigns as Lord High Admiral — Catholic faith exposed
Key People
- Charles II: Wanted tolerance; twice blocked by Parliament; secret Catholic sympathies
- Earl of Clarendon: Chief minister; Code named after him though Parliament drove it
- James, Duke of York: Heir to throne; Catholic faith exposed by Test Act 1673
- John Bunyan: Baptist preacher; imprisoned 1660-72; wrote Pilgrim's Progress in jail
- George Fox: Founder of the Quakers in 1650s; Quakers most persecuted group (15,000 imprisoned)
Must-Know Facts
- Clarendon Code: CACU — Corporation (1661), Act of Uniformity (1662), Conventicle (1664), five-mile act (1665)
- About 2,000 ministers ejected on "Black Bartholomew's Day," 24 August 1662
- Quakers most persecuted — 15,000 imprisoned during Charles's reign
- Charles tried toleration twice (1662, 1672) — Parliament blocked both times
- Test Act 1673 — exposed James as Catholic; set off Exclusion Crisis
- Catholics ~1-2% of population; usually tolerated except during Popish Plot (1678-81)
- Code named after Clarendon but was Parliament's initiative, not Charles's
Cross-Topic Links
- → Catholics & Dissenters (Topic 60): This topic covers the legal framework; Topic 60 shows the human reality — Bunyan's imprisonment, Quaker persecution, and how ordinary people experienced the Clarendon Code.
- → Popish Plot (Topic 58): The Test Act 1673 (part of the religious settlement's collapse) exposed James as Catholic, which directly made the Popish Plot believable and fuelled the Exclusion Crisis.
- → Exclusion Crisis (Topic 59): The religious settlement failed to resolve tensions; those unresolved tensions — particularly anti-Catholic fear — drove the Exclusion Crisis 1679-81.
- → Charles's Court (Topic 50): Charles's secret Catholic sympathies (Declaration of Indulgence attempts, eventual deathbed conversion) show he was personally at odds with the Anglican settlement Parliament imposed.
- → Restoration (Topic 49): The Restoration's religious tolerance promise (Declaration of Breda) was immediately reversed by the Cavalier Parliament's Clarendon Code — a key example of Parliament overriding royal wishes.
Common Mistakes
- Saying Charles "imposed" the Clarendon Code: Parliament imposed it — Charles actually wanted greater religious tolerance and twice tried a Declaration of Indulgence (1662, 1672) but Parliament forced him to withdraw both; the Clarendon Code was Parliament's policy, not his.
- Confusing the four Acts of the Clarendon Code: Know all four in order — Corporation Act (1661), Act of Uniformity (1662), Conventicle Act (1664), Five Mile Act (1665) — examiners test specific knowledge of what each Act did.
- Treating religious persecution as only affecting Nonconformists: Catholics also faced persecution — the Test Act (1673) excluded Catholics from public office; always show that religious intolerance targeted both ends of the spectrum from Puritans to Catholics.
- Not linking religious tensions to the Exclusion Crisis: Anti-Catholic fear built through the 1670s culminating in the Popish Plot (1678) and Exclusion Crisis (1679–81) — the religious settlement's failure to resolve tensions directly caused these later crises.
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Practice Questions for Religious Settlement
Approximately how many ministers were ejected from the Church of England by the Act of Uniformity 1662?
What did the Conventicle Act 1664 ban?
Quick Recall Flashcards
Who was John Bunyan?
Baptist preacher imprisoned 1660-72 for illegal preaching under the Clarendon Code. Wrote Pilgrim's Progress in prison — one of the most widely read books in English history. Symbol of Dissenting perseverance.
What was the Clarendon Code?
Four Acts (1661-65) persecuting Protestant Dissenters — Corporation Act (1661), Act of Uniformity (1662), Conventicle Act (1664), Five Mile Act (1665). Parliament's initiative, not Charles's — he actually tried twice to suspend it.
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