Declaration of Indulgence

Charles II disliked the penal laws against protestant and catholic dissenters and in 1672 issued a Declaration of Indulgence. The House of Commons protested vehemently: ‘no such power was ever claimed or exercised by any of Your Majesty's predecessors.’ Charles climbed down and withdrew it. James II issued another declaration in 1687, repeated it in 1688, and compounded matters with a foolish preface declaring, ‘we cannot but heartily wish, as it will easily be believed, that all the people of our dominions were members of the Catholic Church.’

The Declaration of Indulgence (or the Declaration for the Liberty of Conscience) was a proclamation made by Charles II of England, on the April 4, 1687. It was a first step at establishing freedom of religion in England. It was later revised, by King James II, on April 27, 1688 to include further text. The declaration was greatly opposed in England for it did not guarantee that the Anglican Church of England would remain the established church, as Charles's Royal Declaration of Indulgence had in 1671. The declaration was voided when James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution later that year, in part provoked by the trial of the seven bishops who had petitioned against the declaration.

See also

• Royal Declaration of Indulgence, 1672
• Religion in the United Kingdom

External links

• Full Declaration of 1687
• Amended Declaration of 1688

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