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Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works..(James 2:17-18)

Religion: According to Ninth National
Census of the Commonwealth (1868)
Christians (total) 98.5%
National Church 81.8%
England 60.8%
Scotland 9.0%
Ireland 12.0%
Catholics 6.0%
Anglicans (Episcopalians) 5.2%
Independent or Congregational 4.9%
Baptists 0.5%
Quakers 0.1%
Non Christians (total) 1.5%
Jews 0.5%
Deist 0.4%
Muslim 0.4%
Hindu 0.2%
Total 100.0%

In the Commonwealth all Protestant groups and sects enjoy full religious liberty, as stated in the Instrument of Government (1653), and confirmed by the Humble Petition and Advice (1657) and the Constitutional Framework. Also England, Scotland, Ireland, and later Wales, have a national Church.

Initially, besides the repeal of the episcopal polity and the Act of Uniformity of 1558 in 1646 and 1650 and the recognition of the Church of Scotland as national church, and the establishment of the commissions of triers and ejectors (1654), there were no further details of its structure or beliefs. It was left to the Lord Protector and Parliament with wide discretion as to how to organized the national church either as a Presbyterian or Congregational policy. In the 1660s the main lines and principles were drawn for the three, and later four, national churches.

A further proof of the independence of Church affairs and religious tolerance was that a large part of the Cromwell family and household remained Congregationalist in their faith.

The Religious Settlement of the 1660s[]

One of the policies on assuming Henry Cromwell as Protector, was to settle the religious problem of the Commonwealth. There had been no consensus on the establishment of a national church, its form of government, articles of faith and liturgical book. Above all was the problem of the tithes and who had the right to them and the stance with the congregationalist churches.

In 1662 a meeting at the Savoy Palace of the main factions (Presbyterian, independents and Episcopalians), was assembled with the purpose of reconciling positions and establishing on common ground for one national church in England. At the same time the Commons debated on the religious issue. The Savoy Conference failed to unite opinions and only exerted differences. Although it approach the Presbyterians, conservative Congregationalist and Episcopalian in further negotiations on a national church. Also the Commons was divided on the issue and only agreed on a petition to the Protector and Council of State to consider, study and send on possible solutions to the Parliament. Henry Cromwell along the Council of State and the Army considered, some against their own religious opinions, to established a reform national church, but giving enough assurances for the Independents to be within it or apart of it.

The Settlement, under a series of compromises and its uneasy passage thru the Parliament established several rights and duties. It also marked the defeat of Erastianism, the idea that state is supreme in church matters, or at least its most extreme partisans. One common consensus was the lack of will to establish a Presbyterian organized Church in England and Wales, although there was some sympathy for it in Ireland. The religious settlement was established in at least six main acts approved and enacted between 1663 and 1666.

The Amended Westminster Confession of Faith for England, Wales and Ireland of 1663, that does not included Chapters 30 and 31 on Church discipline and lifted the main obstacle of establishing a non Presbyterian Church and opened up the negotiations for the establishment and organization of the national churches.

The Act on the Organization of the Churches of England, Wales and Ireland of 1664, reaffirmed the nature, privileges and prerogatives of the national churches of England and Wales and Ireland. The role of administration, theology, articles of faith and disciplinary matters was delegated to the own government body of each national church. However it kept the national system of triers and ejectors. Public preachers and churches that received public monies and were outside the national churches would be under the jurisdiction of county councils and a central council of triers and ejectors. The payment of tithes are administered by the Board of Trustees and its delegates. The triers, ejectors, trustees and delegates are named by Protector on candidates proposed by the national churches and the voluntary unions or associations of preachers and independent churches for fixed terms of years.

The Voluntary Associations Registration Act of 1664, allow the registration of churches and preachers not affiliated to the national churches. It gave freedom to choose their articles of faith and liturgy of the service as long as it was not Catholic in nature. The registered associations had to have a common a national body or regional bodies of affiliated churches or associations or union of independent churches and preachers. It allowed for the voluntary association or unions to establishes religious seminaries for the training of their priests and preachers. The Act also allowed the association of parish churches in voluntary unions or associations and the establishment in England and Ireland of national unions that would have control of disciple and services, but must be licensed by the local county commissions of triers and ejectors.

By Act of the Government and Discipline of the National Churches of 1666, the national churches were aligned along the proposals of the late Archbishop James Ussher, more commonly called the conjoined polity or Ussher scheme, a via media of church governance. The conjoined polity mandated a synodical form of church government whereby both presbyters and bishops would share the governance of the church. At each level, the bishop (or the rector of the parish) presides over a council of presbyters who offer advice and share in making decisions. All members have equal vote with matters being decided by majority vote. Establishing a partnership and mutual dependence of both. The level of church governance are parish, regional, provincial, and national.

The Act of Public Monies and Endowment for Religious Observance in Scotland of 1666 normed the tithes and toleration of independent churches and public preachers.

The Act for matters of government of the Church of Scotland of 1665, reaffirmed its Presbyterian polity and allowed for the gathering, abolished since 1653, of its General Assembly the following year. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) is the only valid confession in Scotland.

Trustees, Triers and Ejectors[]

The Trustees, Triers and Ejectors became three separate administrative bodies that had the duty of collecting and paying tithes (trustees), supervision and license of priests and preachers (triees and ejectors) in the Commonwealth as part of the Religious Settlement. The colonies of North America have similar institutions.

The Trustees or Board of Trustees and commissioners has the duty to collect tithes and make payments to priests and preachers duly licensed of the National Churches and voluntary unions and associations. They could also carry out changes of the parish limits in their jurisdictions. At first established for England and Wales (1654), later Ireland (1649 State payment, 1658 own tithe system, 1664 general system) and Scotland (1665). The Boards are established in each home country, with commissioners assigned according to groups of parishes or counties in helping and supervising the labors of the Board. The Boards and commissioners are named by the Protector and the State Council.

The Triers[1] examine, approve and license all clergy and preachers before their admission to the benefices. The triers are organized in a Central Council and county commissions in each Home Country. At first they were established for England and Wales (1654), later Ireland (1664) and Scotland (1665). Its members are Presbyterians, Baptists, Independent, National Church clergymen and also pious laymen. Candidates are proposed by special boards of clergyman on regional basis and appointed by the Protector and the State Council for an ten year term.

The Ejectors[2] are appointed to remove and expel inadequate ministers and schoolmasters from their offices. The Ejectors were forbidden from inquiring into a minister's doctrine, and could only expel a minister for neglect of his parish or for "scandalous behaviour" (e.g. adultery, drunkenness, profaning of Sabbath, etc.). They had the same duties with schoolmasters until the passage of Acts of Parliament that established national and state funded primary and secondary schools. The Ejectors are organized in local county commissions and a Central Council for appeals, in each Home Country. At first established for England and Wales (1654), Ireland (1664) and Scotland (1665). Its members were clergymen and laymen. County commissioners are proposed by special county boards of clergy and laymen, and appointed by the Protector and Council for an ten year term. The candidates for the central council council are proposed by special boards and appointed by the Protector and the State Council for an ten year term.

In 1665 the first joint annual session of the three bodie of Trustees, Triers and Ejectors for England and Wales and Ireland was called, Scotland followed the next year.

Liturgical books[]

Having been no agreement on a common liturgical book a compromise was made that each national church would issue or use one or more (as in the case of the Church of Ireland) and the Independents could adopt freely any of those or issue their own book. This list was given formal status by the Public Worship Regulation Act of 1670 that only authorized the printing and distribution of liturgical books adopted and approved by the national churches and the national associations of independent congregationalist and baptists.

So the list contained the

  • Directory for Public Worship of 1645. Used by the Church of Scotland and a minority of the congregationalist,
  • the Irish Common Prayer Book (Leabhar na hUrnaí Coitinne) of 1661, revised in 1665. Used by the Church of Ireland and part of the congregationalist in Ireland,
  • the Common Prayer Book of 1662. Used by the Churches of England, Ireland and Wales, and
  • the Book of Reformed Liturgy of 1662. Also known as Baxter’s Reformed Liturgy, and used by majority of the Congregationalists and Baptists.

Religious Toleration[]

Religious toleration was one the main issues of the Religious Settlement of Henry Cromwell that was firmly established across the Commonwealth. This religious liberty applied only to Protestant denominations. Mainly on the insistence of the Army, many independent churches were tolerated and allowed to flourish, although everyone still had to pay tithes for the maintenance of national churches and public preachers. There are no penalties for not going to church, or attending other acts of worship. Public and private worship is allowed as long as it does not disrupt public peace, injures or molests other faiths, nor is contrary to the Holy Scripture.

Religious toleration was not extended to Catholics, Episcopalians (or Anglicans, until 1670s), Socinianism (Unitarianism) and some extreme sects like the Ranters, the Fifth Monarchists, the Seekers, and the Muggletonians. These extreme Protestant sects are seen as a threat to to public peace, social order and property rights, therefore open to prosecution and exclusion from the public and military service.

The main protestant groups that enjoy religious tolerance or liberty outside the national churches are:

  • Independent or Congregationalist churches,
  • Baptists, and
  • Quakers, formally known as the Religious Society of Friends, Society of Friends or Friends Church.

Other religious groups and denominations that have religious liberty, are those mainly of brought by European emigres and practised among their communities are: Calvinists that includes Dutch Reformed Church, Lutherans from the German States and Calvinistic Presbyterian and Orthodox from Eastern Europe. Jews are allowed to resettle in the Commonwealth and in the overseas territories since 1656 and have the right to build and establish temples and cemeteries, and hold private religious services and worship in the 1660s. Jews had also the possibility of becoming denizens until the 1790s when all restriction on them were removed.

Anti-catholicism in England, Scotland and Wales remains an important issue and rallying cause of national unity and identity of the Commonwealth. However in Ireland, with its large rural catholic following, was more a problem of civil unrest and missionary activity, part of which was compensated in the late 1670 with services in the majority of the parishes of the Church of Ireland given out completely in Irish and much later with the revival and interest on Celtic Christianity. Celtic Christianity developed in the 19th century Ireland as a historical and national revival of Celtic traditions. These included the pilgrimage and protection of ancient monastic sites, stone crosses, and holy wells. The use of hymns with Celtic melodies in English and Irish Gaelic, and artworks blending Celtic symbols with Protestant themes.

The National Churches of the Commonwealth[]

The National Churches have the following prerogatives and privileges: recognized as the official and established church of its respective region within the Commonwealth; financial support from the state; privilege to establish and run schools, colleges, and seminaries, promoting both religious and secular education; retain ownership of their lands, properties, and assets; autonomy in their internal governance, appointment of clergy, and theological decisions; right to define and protect their doctrines, liturgies, and practices without external interference; prerogative to conduct missionary activities both within the Commonwealth and in overseas territories.

The main characteristics of the national churches are the following:

National Church Church of England Church of Scotland (Scots: The Scots Kirk, Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais na h-Alba) Church of Ireland (Irish: Eaglais na hÉireann) Church of Wales (Welsh: Eglwys Cymru)
Territorial jurisdiction England, Wales (until the establishment of its own National Church), Isle of Man, Channel Islands, and colonies and territories of America, Africa and Asia Scotland (and Nova Scotia) Ireland Wales
Language services English.[3]. Also Welsh until its establishment as a separate church English and Scots Irish and English Welsh and English
Theology and practice Anglican - Reformed (Presbyterian - Independent) Reformed (Presbyterian) Reformed (Presbyterian - Calvinist), later also traditional and reformed Celtic Christianity Reformed (Presbyterian - Independent)
Article of Faith Amended Westminster Confession of Faith (1663) Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) The Irish Articles (1615, revised in 1666) and Amended Westminster Confession of Faith (1663) Amended Westminster Confession of Faith (1663)
Polity (Church Governance) Episcopal-Presbyterian (Ussher scheme) Presbyterian Episcopal-Presbyterian (Ussher scheme)[4] Episcopal-Presbyterian (Ussher scheme)
Liturgical book Common Prayer Book of 1662 Directory for Public Worship of 1645 Common Prayer Book of 1662 and Irish Common Prayer Book (Leabhar na hUrnaí Coitinne) of 1661, revised in 1665 Common Prayer Book of 1604, revised in 1662

Origins of the Church of Wales[]

The Commissioners for better propagation of Gospel in Wales had the powers to examine and eject ministers and schoolmaster. and also root out superstitious practices and beliefs, it carried out its duties for three years (1650-1653). Later the Commissioners for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge in Wales was created with the same purpose of the one of 1650, and renewed every ten years (1665 to date), with the added tasks of promoting the use of Welsh languages by ministers, schoolmasters and Church services and texts. This Commission, that was a specialized body of the Church of England, would later became the basis of the Church of Wales, arranged as a union of parishes.

The Main Denominations outside the National Churches of the Commonwealth[]

Under the Voluntary Associations Registration Act of 1664 and latter Act, the main voluntary associations of churches and preachers of the Commonwealth where are the following:

The Independents and Congregationalists were Puritans who believed that each congregation should be autonomous, free from a hierarchical church structure. Like other the Presbyterian and some groups of the Church of England, they favored a simple and plain style of worship, focusing on the preaching of the Word of God. Many Independents advocated religious tolerance, given their own experiences of persecution. While not universally tolerant, they were generally more accepting of other Protestant sects. They gained significant influence after 1660 due to the Army being chiefly Puritans and the public affiliation of the Cromwell family to the Congregationalists. They are organized in:

  • Congregational Fellowship of England
  • Congregational Churches of Ireland
  • Scottish Congregational and Independant Union
  • Union of Welsh Independents;

The Baptists emerging from the broader Puritan movement, Baptists believe in the adult believer's baptism (as opposed to infant baptism). They uphold that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, so that individuals might have freedom of religion. By the 17th century the were divided in the General Baptists (who held Arminian views) and Particular Baptists (who held Calvinist views). The Baptists are organized in:

  • Baptist Union of England
  • Baptist Union of Scotland
  • Irish Baptist Association
  • Baptist Union of Wales;

The Quakers (Society of Friends), founded by George Fox in the 1640s, emphasized personal revelation and the "Inner Light." They rejected formal religious ceremonies and were known for their pacifism. They have the Yearly Meetings of London, Dublin, Scotland and Wales.

The Episcopalians (Anglicans) that did not joined the Church of England established their own separate denomination. Officially were not allowed to register as a voluntary associations. Until the 1670s they were not allowed to have any form of private worship, but its enforcement depended on the will of local authorities. Service in the The First Anglican or Episcopalian Toleration Act (1676) allowed open worship and public convincles and religious assemblies of the Episcopalians in England, and later across of all the territories of the Commonwealth as a voluntary association. The Episcopal Church Assemblies Act (1703) recognized the unique position of the Anglican Church of England and its historical significance. The Act would allow the Anglican Church to organize as a national body, own property, gain some the privileges the national churches have and do missionary work outside of the Home Countries of the Commonwealth. This Act allowed for the ecclesiastical provinces of Scotland and Ireland to establish their own autocephalous churches in communion with the Anglican Church of England and Wales under the Anglican Communion.

The Anglicans or Episcopalians are organized in:

  • Anglican Church of England and Wales
  • Scottish Episcopal Church (1705)
  • Episcopal Church of Ireland (1706)

While Catholicism was officially suppressed in the Commonwealth there were still covert Catholics that held secret masses and religious services. The Catholic population was more significant in parts of Ireland and Scotland. Although, not officially recognized but existing de facto they were organized in:

  • Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
  • Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales
  • Roman Catholic Church in Scotland

Denominations
Independent or Congregational Churches Baptist (General and Particular) Episcopalians (Anglicans) Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Language services English, Welsh and Irish English, Welsh and Irish English, Welsh and Irish English, Welsh and Irish
Article of Faith Cambridge Platform (1648) or Savoy Declaration (1658) The 1644 Baptist Confession of Faith Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1563) Book of Discipline (updated periodically by each Yearly Meeting)
Theology and practice Anglican - Reformed (Calvinist - Presbyterian - Independent) Baptist Anglican doctrine Variable; depends on meeting
Polity Congregationalist polity Congregationalist polity Episcopalian polity Congregationalist polity
Liturgical book Book of Reformed Liturgy of 1662 and Directory for Public Worship of 1645 Book of Reformed Liturgy of 1662 Common Prayer Book of 1662

Religion in the Dominions, Colonies and Territories of the Commonwealth[]

Most of the overseas dominions and colonies and territories of the Commonwealth were founded or chartered to religious dissidents from the Church of England. However there are particularities. Virginia's adaptation of the Religious Settlement gives more powers and attributions to the legislature and local vestries. The Dominion of New England gives equal status to both the Church of England and Congregational churches. New England's religious legislation established a system which required every man, woman and child to belong to a church, and permits each church to tax its members. In Nova Scotia a presbytery of the Church of Scotland was established due to the large and permanent population of Scottish settlers and sailors.


Territory
Establishment Denomination of established church Other important denominations Founders Notes
Virginia 1607 to date Church of England
Newfoundland 1610 to date Church of England
Bermuda 1612 to date Church of England
Leeward Islands Colony 1623 to date Church of England
Barbados 1627 to date Church of England
Massachusetts Bay 1628-1675 Congregational Founded by Puritan, Calvinist, Protestants. Member of the New England Confederation (1643)
Plymouth 1628-1675 Congregational Founded by Pilgrims (Brownist Dissenters), English Dissenters or Separatists, Calvinists. Member of the New England Confederation (1643)
Maryland 1632 to date None Church of England, Catholics, Congregational, and Quakers. Toleration to all Christian groups 
Connecticut 1636-1675 Congregational Founded by Puritans Member of the New England Confederation (1643)
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 1636-1675 None Baptist, Quakers and Jews Founded by religious dissenters forced to flee Massachusetts Bay Freedom of religion
New Haven 1638-1675 Congregational Founded by Puritans, Calvinist, Protestants. Member of the New England Confederation (1643)
Bahamas 1648 to date None Congregational, Quakers, Church of England Founded by Puritans Freedom of religion
Nova Scotia 1654 to date Church of Scotland Catholics, Church of England and congregational churches
Jamaica 1655 to date Church of England
Dominion of New England 1675 to date Church of England and Congregational churches Baptist and Quakers Founded by Puritans, Calvinist, Protestants.

Later Developments[]

MasonicEyeOfProvidence

The Eye of Province. An early Masonic and Deist symbol.

There were three major developments outside of the Christian denominations: Freemasonry, Deism and Unitarism.

Square compasses

The Masonic Square and Compasses. (Found with or without the letter G)

Freemasonry or Masonry consists of fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Members of these organisations are known as Freemasons or Masons.

The degrees of freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or Fellow, and Master Mason. The candidate of these three degrees is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry, and entrusted with grips, signs and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The initiations are part allegorical morality play and part lecture. The three degrees are offered by Craft (or Blue Lodge) Freemasonry. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, and are usually administered by their own bodies (separate from those who administer the craft degrees).

The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. The Lodges are usually supervised and governed at the regional level (usually coterminous with either a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.

British Freemasonry spread to France in the 1730s, first as lodges of expatriates and exiled royalists, and then as distinctively French lodges which still follow the ritual of the Moderns. From France and the Commonwealth, Freemasonry spread to most of Continental Europe and Americas during the course of the 18th century.

Eye of Providence

A stylized Eye of Province used by the Cult of Reason as its symbol.

Deism, a theological theory concerning the relationship between a creator and the natural world, emerged during the scientific revolution of 17th century Europe and came to exert a powerful influence during the 18th-century Enlightenment. Deism stood between the narrow dogmatism of the period and skepticism. Though deists rejected atheism[ they often were called "atheists" by more traditional theists. There were a number of different forms in the 17th and 18th centuries that mainly emerged in the Commonwealth and France.

In England, the term deist first appeared in Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1583–1648) is considered the "father of English deism", and his book De Veritate (1624) the first major statement of deism. Deism flourished in Britain between 1690 and 1740, at which time Matthew Tindal's Christianity as Old as the Creation (1730), also called "The Deist's Bible," gained much attention. In 18th century, in the Commonwealth, deists included a range of people from anti-Christian to non-Christian theists. Later deism spread to France (notably through the work of Voltaire), to Germany, and to North America.

France had its own tradition of religious skepticism and natural theology in the works of Montaigne, Bayle, and Montesquieu. The most famous of the French deists was Voltaire, who acquired a taste for Newtonian science, and reinforcement of deistic inclinations, during a two-year visit to England starting in 1726. However, continental Deism was a highly critical of the established Catholic Church, and has the authors of the Encyclopedia emphasized the hold of the Church on society was a hold on progress and scientific knowledge and part of the sections of society that opposed the pursuit of improvement and happiness of man and society. Thus, this in part explains the onslaught of Continental secularism and the establishment of organized deism such as the Cult of Reason.

The Cult of Reason in the Commonwealth was a brief novelty and later practiced by the more educate and skeptical of the National Churches - besides competing with the Freemasonry that had an important following in aristocratic and oligarchical circles. Public gatherings and services were limited or prohibited by the Alien Associations Act that restricted the activities of non British organizations such as the French Cult of Reason. Being relegated to private halls and households parlors, gaining its moniker of Parlor Religion.

However the major change was the contact and dialogue between Deism, Socinianism, Baptist and Quaker traditions that led to the development of Unitarianism as the union of Deism and Nontrinitarianism Christianity.

  1. commissioners for approbation of public clergy and preachers.
  2. commissioners for ejecting scandalous, ignorant and insufficient ministers and schoolmasters.
  3. With considerations for Manx and Norman in Man and the Channel Islands
  4. Although it as strong Presbyterian practices and customs
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