View source for Test Acts 1673 & 1678

{{Short description|1673 series of English penal laws}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
[[File:A Word of Comfort2.jpg|thumb|A 1790 cartoon satirizing the efforts of [[Charles James Fox]] and [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] theologian [[Joseph Priestley]] to get the Test Acts repealed. Priestly preaches from atop a pile of his own works, in a pulpit inscribed "FANATICISM", to Fox seated in a box pew. Fox asks, "Pray, Doctor is there such a thing as a Devil?" Priestley responds "No", however [[Satan|the devil]] himself announces, "If you had eyes behind, you'd know better my dear Doctor".]]

The '''Test Acts''' were a series of [[Penal law (British)|penal laws]] originating in [[Restoration England]], passed by the [[Parliament of England]], that served as a religious test for [[public office]] in [[England and Wales]], which imposed various [[civil disabilities]] on [[Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales|Roman Catholics]] and [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist Protestants]]. The underlying principle was that only people taking [[Eucharist|communion]] in the established [[Church of England]] were eligible for public employment, and the severe penalties pronounced against [[recusants]], whether Catholic or nonconformist, were affirmations of this principle.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Test Acts|volume=26|pages=665–666}}</ref>

Although theoretically encompassing all who refuse to comply with Anglicanism in a dragnet approach, in practice the nonconformist Protestants had many defenders in Parliament and were often exempted from some of these laws through the regular passage of [[Act of Indemnity#United Kingdom and preceding states|Acts of Indemnity]]: in particular, the [[Indemnity Act 1727]] relieved nonconformists from the requirements in the [[Test Act 1673]] and the [[Corporation Act 1661]] that public office holders must have taken the [[Eucharist|sacrament of the Lord's Supper]] in an Anglican church.<ref>E. Neville Williams, ''The Eighteenth-Century Constitution, 1688–1815: Documents and Commentary'' (Cambridge University Press, 1965), pp. 341–343.</ref>

An exception was at [[Oxbridge]], where nonconformists and Catholics could not matriculate (Oxford) or graduate (Cambridge) until 1871.

Similar laws were introduced in [[Scotland]] with respect to the [[Presbyterian polity|Presbyterian]] [[Church of Scotland]] and also in [[Ireland]], where the minority Anglican [[Church of Ireland]] had [[penal laws (Ireland)|penal laws]] set up in its favour to allow the [[Anglo-Irish people|Anglo-Irish]] minority to maintain control of land, law and politics as part of the [[Protestant Ascendancy]].

== Corporation Act 1661 ==
{{main|Corporation Act 1661}}

The [[Naturalisation and Restoration of Blood Act 1609]] ([[7 Jas. 1]]. c. 2) provided that all such as were naturalised or restored in blood should receive the sacrament of the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] (repealed by [[Naturalization Act 1870]] ([[33 & 34 Vict.]] c. 14)) but this did not affect most people born in England.

It was not, however, until the reign of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] that actually receiving [[Eucharist|communion]] in the [[Church of England]] was made a precondition for holding [[public office]]. The earliest imposition of this test was by the [[Corporation Act 1661]] ([[13 Cha. 2 St. 2]]. c. 1) requiring that, besides taking the [[Oath of Supremacy]], all members of corporations (i.e. municipal authorities) were, within one year after election, to receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the rites of the Church of England. This was targeted at Presbyterians and other non-conformists following the English Civil War and Restoration, though also affected Roman Catholics.<ref name="EB1911"/>

== Test Act 1673 <span class="anchor" id="Test Act 1672"></span><span class="anchor" id="Popish Recusants Act 1672"></span> ==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Popish Recusants Act 1672
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of England
| long_title            = An Act for preventing Dangers which may happen from Popish Recusants.
| year                  = 1673
| citation              = [[25 Cha. 2]]. c. 2
| territorial_extent    = {{flagicon|Kingdom of England}} [[England and Wales]]
| royal_assent          = 29 March 1673
| commencement          = 4 February 1673{{efn|Start of session.}}
| repeal_date           = 28 July 1863
| amendments            = {{ubli|[[Parliament Act 1678]]|[[Qualification for Employments Act 1726]]|[[Indemnity Act 1742]]|[[Sacramental Test Act 1828]]|[[Roman Catholics Act 1844]]}}
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1863]]
| related_legislation   = [[Indemnity Act 1727]]
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol5/pp782-785
}}

The [[Corporation Act 1661]] ([[13 Cha. 2 St. 2]]. c. 1) was followed by the '''Test Act 1673'''<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=47451 University of London & History of Parliament Trust]</ref> ([[25 Cha. 2]]. c. 2) (the [[long title]] of which is "An act for preventing dangers which may happen from popish recusants").<ref>'Charles II, 1672: An Act for preventing Dangers which may happen from Popish Recusants.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628–80 (1819), pp. 782–85. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47451. Date accessed: 6 March 2007.</ref> This act enforced upon all persons filling any office, civil, military or religious, the obligation of taking the oaths of supremacy and allegiance and subscribing to a declaration against [[transubstantiation]] and also of receiving the sacrament within three months after admittance to office.<ref name="EB1911"/> The oath for the Test Act 1673 was:

<blockquote>I, ''N'', do declare that I do believe that there is not any transubstantiation in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or in the elements of the [[Sacrament|bread and wine]], at or after the [[consecration]] thereof by any person whatsoever.</blockquote>

The act was passed in the parliamentary session that began on 4 February 1673 ([[Gregorian calendar]]). The act is, however, dated 1672 in some accounts due to the [[Julian calendar]] then in force in England.<ref>Plunknett, Theodore, ''Studies in English Legal History'' Hambledon Press 1983 p. 323</ref>

One of the immediate reasons that the "Country Party" (proto-Whigs) in Parliament pushed for this was to break up the [[Cabal ministry]] — members of the Court Party of powerful statement under [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], who had divergent religious interests — the Catholic [[Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh|Lord Clifford]] could not accept this oath which ran contrary to his beliefs, so resigned his position in government and the Cabal ministry completely unravelled by 1674. Foreign nations and their agents also had a vested interest in lobbying either way on the issue, as the leaders of the Cabal ministry (Arlington and Clifford) were allied with Catholic France against the Protestant Dutch in the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]]; after the fall of the Cabal ministry, the pro-Dutch [[First Danby ministry]] came to power. In addition to this, 1673 was also the year that it became public knowledge that [[James, Duke of York]], heir to the throne, had converted to Catholicism.

The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the [[Statute Law Revision Act 1863]] ([[26 & 27 Vict.]] c. 125).

== Test Act 1678 ==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Parliament Act 1678
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of England
| long_title = An Act for the more effectuall preserving the Kings Person and Government by disableing Papists from sitting in either House of Parlyament.
| year = 1678
| citation = [[30 Cha. 2. St. 2]].
| territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]]
| royal_assent = 30 November 1678
| commencement = 1 December 1678{{efn|Section 1.}}
| repeal_date = 30 April 1866
| amends = [[Popish Recusants Act 1672]]
| amendments = [[Religious Disabilities Act 1846]]
| repealing_legislation = [[Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866]]
| related_legislation = 
| status = Repealed
| original_text = https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol5/pp894-896
| collapsed = yes
}}

Initially, the act did not extend to [[House of Lords|peers]], but in 1678 the act was extended by a further act, the '''Parliament Act 1678''' ([[30 Cha. 2. St. 2]]),<ref>'Charles II, 1678: (Stat. 2.) An Act for the more effectuall preserving the Kings Person and Government by disableing Papists from sitting in either House of Parlyament.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628–80 (1819), pp. 894–96. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47482. Date accessed: 6 March 2007.</ref> which required that all peers and members of the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] should make a declaration against transubstantiation, invocation of saints, and the sacrificial nature of the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]].<ref name="EB1911"/> The effect of this was to exclude [[Catholic]]s from both houses, and in particular the "[[Five popish lords|Five Popish Lords]]" from the [[House of Lords]], a change motivated largely by the alleged [[Popish Plot]]. The Lords deeply resented this interference with their membership; they delayed passage of the act as long as possible, and managed to greatly weaken it by including an exemption for the future [[James II of England|James II]], effective head of the Catholic nobility, at whom it was largely aimed.<ref>Kenyon, J. P. ''The Popish Plot'' 2nd Edition Phoenix Press 2000 pp. 104–5</ref>

== Scotland ==
In Scotland, a religious test was imposed immediately after the [[Reformation]], and by a 1567 law no one was to be appointed to a public office or to be a [[notary]] who did not profess [[Calvinism]]. The Scottish Test Act was passed in 1681 but rescinded in 1690. Later attempts to exclude Scotland from the English Test Acts were rejected by the [[Parliament of Scotland]]. In 1707, anyone bearing office in any university, college or school in Scotland was to profess and subscribe to the [[Westminster Confession of Faith|Confession of Faith]]. All persons were to be free of any oath or test contrary to or inconsistent with the Protestant religion and Presbyterian Church government. The reception of the [[Eucharist]] was never a part of the test in Scotland as it was in England and Ireland. The necessity for subscription to the Confession of Faith by persons holding a university office was removed by the [[Universities (Scotland) Act 1853]]. The act provided that in place of subscription every person appointed to a university office was to subscribe a declaration according to the form in the act, promising not to teach any opinions opposed to the divine authority of Scripture or to the Confession of Faith, and to do nothing to the prejudice of the Church of Scotland or its doctrines and privileges.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/statutesunitedk29britgoog/page/527/mode/1up?view=theater Universities (Scotland) Act 1853] 16 & 17 Vict. c. 89, ss. 2, 4, 5</ref> All tests were finally abolished by an act of 1889.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lcCuAAAAMAAJ&pg=290 Universities (Scotland) Act 1889], 52 & 53 Vict. c. 55, s. 17.</ref><ref name="EB1911"/>

== Repeals <span class="anchor" id="Test Abolition Act 1867"></span> ==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Test Abolition Act 1867
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to abolish a certain Declaration, commonly called the Declaration against Transubstantiation, the Invocation of the Saints, and the Sacrifice of the Mass, as practised in the Church of Rome; and to render it unnecessary to take, make, or subscribe the same as a Qualification for the Exercise or Enjoyment of any Civil Office, Franchise, or Right.
| year                  = 1867
| citation              = [[30 & 31 Vict.]] c. 62
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 25 July 1867
| commencement          = 25 July 1867{{efn|The [[Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793]].}}
| repeal_date           = 16 November 1989
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1989]] 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NsJHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA380
| collapsed             = yes
}}

The necessity of receiving the sacrament as a qualification for office was repealed in Ireland in 1780 (19 & 20 Geo. 3. c. 6 (I))<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cohRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA373 19 & 20 George III c.6 {{bracket|Ir.}}]</ref><ref name="TM">{{cite book|editor1=Moody, T. W. |editor2=Martin, F. X. |year=1967|title=The Course of Irish History|publisher=Mercier Press|location=Cork|page=373}}</ref> and by the [[Sacramental Test Act 1828]] in England and Wales. Provisions requiring the taking of oaths and declarations against [[transubstantiation]] were repealed by the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829]].<ref name="EB1911"/> Sir [[Robert Peel]] took the lead for the government in the repeal and collaborated with Anglican Church leaders.<ref>Norman Gash (1961), ''Mr Secretary Peel'', pp.: 460–65; Richard A. Gaunt, "Peel's Other Repeal: The Test and Corporation Acts, 1828," ''Parliamentary History'' (2014) 33#1 pp 243–262.</ref> The application of the 1828 and 1829 acts to Irish acts was uncertain and so the '''{{visible anchor|Test Abolition Act 1867}}''' ([[30 & 31 Vict.]] c. 62) repeated the 1829 repeal more explicitly.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=g5kvAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA428 30 & 31 Vict. c. 62]</ref>

The 1661, 1672 and 1678 acts were repealed by the [[Promissory Oaths Act 1871]], the [[Statute Law Revision Act 1863]] and the [[Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866]] respectively.<ref name="EB1911"/> Religious tests for officers of the [[ancient universities]] were repealed by the [[Universities Tests Act 1871]] for England, the [[University of Dublin Tests Act 1873]], and the [[Universities (Scotland) Act 1889]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal|title=The Parliamentary Struggle over the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, 1787–1790|journal=[[The English Historical Review]]|last=Ditchfield|first=Grayson M.|year=1974|volume=89|issue=352|pages=551–577|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|doi=10.1093/ehr/LXXXIX.CCCLII.551|jstor=567426|issn=0013-8266|eissn=1477-4534}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QCYOAQAAMAAJ|title=Reader's Guide to British History|volume=2: M-Z|pages=1262–1263|isbn=9781579584276|last1=Loades|first1=D.M.|date= 2003|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn }}
* {{Cite journal|title=Resistance to Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, 1828|journal=[[The Historical Journal]]|last=Machin|first=G. I. T.|year=1979|volume=22|issue=1|pages=115–139|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.1017/S0018246X00016708|jstor=2639014|s2cid=154680968 |issn=0018-246X|
eissn=1469-5103}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=232 Committees for the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts]: the minutes of two committees for the repeal of the Act. First published by the London Record Society, available as part of British History Online.

{{Religious persecution}}
{{English legislation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1661 in law]]
[[Category:1673 in law]]
[[Category:1661 in Christianity]]
[[Category:1673 in Christianity]]
[[Category:17th century in England]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of England 1672]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of England 1678]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of England concerning religion]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism in England]]
[[Category:Christianity and law in the 17th century]]
[[Category:Legal history of England]]
[[Category:Repealed English legislation]]