This deep dive covers Religious Groups in Restoration England within Religious Settlement for GCSE History. Revise Religious Settlement in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 4 of 15 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🧠 Religious Groups in Restoration England
Anglicans: Official Church of England. Bishops, Book of Common Prayer, ceremonies. Dominant in Parliament and society. Wanted monopoly on religion.
Dissenters/Nonconformists: Protestants who wouldn't conform — Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, Congregationalists. Perhaps 5% of population. Persecuted by Clarendon Code.
Catholics: About 1-2% of population. Technically illegal (couldn't hold office, attend Mass). Usually left alone until Popish Plot (1678). James, Duke of York was Catholic — the central political problem.
Charles's position: Secretly sympathetic to Catholics (mother was Catholic; converted on deathbed). Tried twice to issue toleration (1662, 1672) but Parliament blocked both attempts.
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
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.
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.