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dissenter

 
(dĭ-sĕn'tər) pronunciation
n.
  1. One who dissents: political dissenters.
  2. often Dissenter One who refuses to accept the doctrines or usages of an established or a national church, especially a Protestant who dissents from the Church of England.

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Roget's Thesaurus:

dissenter

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noun

    A person who dissents from the doctrine of an established church: dissident, heretic, nonconformist, schismatic, sectarian, sectary, separationist, separatist. See religion.

Dissenters, the name commonly applied in America to those who disagreed with the doctrines of the religious establishments, particularly the Church of England in Massachusetts. Dissenting bodies, or "nonconformists," splintered from established churches with increasing frequency in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The most important dissenters were the Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Wesleyans, or Methodists. Once the legal separation of church and state ended the Anglican and Congregational franchises, the ranks of the dissenters grew rapidly. Organized collectively in evangelical groups, these congregations would dominate social reform and force political realignments during the antebellum era.

Bibliography

Gaustad, Edwin S. Faith of our Fathers: Religion and the New Nation. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987.

Hatch, Nathan O. The Democratization of American Christianity. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1989.

—Robert Fortenbaugh/A. R.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'dissenter'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to dissenter, see:

Or see dissent.

The term dissenter (from the Latin dissentire, “to disagree”), labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.[1]

Originally, the term included English and Welsh Roman Catholics[1] whom the original draft of the Nonconformist Relief Act 1779 styled "Protesting Catholic Dissenters." In practice, however, it designates Protestant Dissenters referred to in sec. ii. of the Act of Toleration of 1689 (see English Dissenters.)

The term does not apply to those bodies who dissent from the Established Church of Scotland; and in speaking of members of religious bodies which have seceded from established churches outside Britain one usually employs the term "dissidents" (from the Latin dissidere, “to dissent”). In this connotation the terms "dissenter" and "dissenting," which had acquired a somewhat contemptuous flavour, have tended since the middle of the 18th century to be replaced by "nonconformist," a term which did not originally imply secession, but only refusal to conform in certain particulars (for example the wearing of the surplice) with the authorized usages of the Established Church.[1]

Still more recently the term "nonconformist" has in its turn, as the political attack on the principle of a state establishment of religion developed, tended to give place to the style of “Free Churches” and “Free Churchman.” All three terms continue in use, “nonconformist” being the most usual, as it is the most colourless.

See also

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

References

  1. ^ a b c Cross, FL; Livingstone, EA, eds. (March 13, 1997), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.), USA: Oxford University Press, p. 490 .

Translations:

Dissenter

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - anderledes tænkende person

Nederlands (Dutch)
andersdenkende, iemand met afwijkende positie

Français (French)
n. - contestataire, (Relig) dissident

Deutsch (German)
n. - Andersdenkender

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - διαφωνών, αντιτιθέμενος, διιστάμενος

Italiano (Italian)
dissenziente

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dissidente (m)

Русский (Russian)
бунтарь, нонкорформист

Español (Spanish)
n. - disidente

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - oliktänkande

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
不同意者, 非国教派的人, 反对者

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 不同意者, 非國教派的人, 反對者

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 반대하는 사람

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 反対者, 非国教徒

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المنشق ( عن مذهب ديني أو سياسي), المعارض‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מתנגד, פורש‬


 
 

 

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
$copyright.smallImage.alttext Gale Encyclopedia of US History. Encyclopedia of American History Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved.  Read more
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