Thread: During The American Revolutionary War, the state religion of Great Britain was Christianity?

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  1. #1

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    Context:

    The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the American War of Independence,[N 1] or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the military rebellion against Great Britain of Thirteen American Colonies which joined together as the United States of America in July 1776. Originally limited to fighting in those colonies, after 1778 it also became a world war between Britain and France, Netherlands, Spain, and Mysore.[N 2]

    More:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War
  2. #2

    Default During The American Revolutionary War, the state religion of Great Britain was Christianity?

  3. #3

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    @Setanta,
    But "Christianity" (or the Church of England) wasn't something what we call "state religion" nowadays: it was a "National Church" in those days, with Puritans and Protestants and even Roman Catholics existing outside the Anglican Church.

    Edited: that happened after the Restoration of Charles II:
    The Restoration settlements made this situation considerably worse as, much against Charles's will, his Parliament decided on a narrowly defined Church based on hierarchy and ceremony, and expelled from it everybody who preferred a broader-based and more austere one, with a greater emphasis on preaching. This created a major new problem of nonconformity, as several new groups of Protestants formed alongside and outside the national one. Source
  4. #4

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    @Walter Hinteler,
    It was the established church, Walter. One could not hold public office unless one was a communicant of the Anglican Church. If you were to dig a little deeper, you'd find that the Restoration Parliament also took steps to exclude those professing any other religion from public office. There were a series of Test Acts, beginning in 1673, and the first was intended specifically to target James, Duke of York, who was (correctly) believed to be a secret Catholic. The RC Church later gave dispensation for Catholics to take Anglican communion to get around the Test Acts, so in the reign of Queen
  5. #5

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    @Setanta,
    True, Set.

    So I verify my above post (and change it): the Church of Scotland was/is the national church of Scotland, the Church of England was/is the officially established religious institution in England.

    And Christianity was (nearly) the only religious belief in Great Britain during the time of the American revolution.

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