TOLERATION ACT (1690). An Act for Exempting Their Majesties Protestant Subjects, Dissenting from the Church of England, from the Penalties of certain Laws.

Descripción:

Folio (10.5 inches). 1 William & Mary, Chapter 18. General title leaf + pages 303-318. Woodcut Royal coat of arms, headband, and decorative initial. Text in Black Letter. Second issue or edition, printed in 1690 (the first edition was printed in 1689). Neatly extracted from a bound volume and expertly mended. Prior to his arrival in England, King William III was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. As a practicing Calvinist and Presbyterian, he was technically a Nonconformist Protestant, but in his role as King was also officially the head of the Church of England. This awkward situation quickly led to the passage of this Act, which granted freedom of worship to Nonconformist Protestants (including Puritans and Baptists) who pledged the Oath of Supremacy and Allegiance to the King and rejected the concept of transubstantiation. Nonconformists who took the oath were additionally exempt from penalties for non-attendance at services of the Church of England. In many ways, the Act was a compromise to get Nonconformist support during the early crucial months of Williams rule. The Act did not apply to Catholics, Unitarians, or atheists, who continued to be subject to social and political disabilities that excluded them from political office and universities. N° de ref. del artículo 007

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