|
More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
|
Nonconformists
|
|
Protestants who did not accept the orthodoxy of the *Church of England. The term was first used in the 1660s for those not conforming to the *Clarendon Code. The Act of Uniformity of 1662, by insisting upon the *Thirty-nine Articles, removed some 2000 clergy from their livings. The Toleration Act of 1689 established the right of Nonconformists to worship freely; but they continued to suffer severe restrictions, which they shared with Roman Catholics, in such areas as education (excluded from universities) and politics (ineligible for elected office), until the acts of the 17C were gradually repealed during the 19C.
|
|
|
|
The Noncomformist ranks were greatly enlarged in the 18C by a new dissenting sect, the *Methodists. The word 'chapel' – originally applied to any place of worship which was not the 'church' of an Anglican parish – was by the 19C associated strongly with the Nonconformists. Nonconformist attitudes, characterized by moral conviction, hard work and a respect for material success, have provided an important strand in British history.
|
|
|
|