<P> James II was overthrown by William of Orange in 1688 , and the new king moved quickly to ease religious tensions . Many of his supporters had been Nonconformist non-Anglicans . With the Act of Toleration enacted on 24 May 1689 , Nonconformists had freedom of worship . That is , those Protestants who dissented from the Church of England such as Baptists , Congregationalists and Quakers were allowed their own places of worship and their own teachers and preachers , subject to acceptance of certain oaths of allegiance . These privileges expressly did not apply to Catholics and Unitarians , and it continued the existing social and political disabilities for dissenters , including exclusion from political office . The religious settlement of 1689 shaped policy down to the 1830s . The Church of England was not only dominant in religious affairs , but it blocked outsiders from responsible positions in national and local government , business , professions and academe . In practice , the doctrine of the divine right of kings persisted Old animosities had diminished , and a new spirit of toleration was abroad . Restrictions on Nonconformists were mostly either ignored or slowly lifted . The Protestants , including the Quakers , who worked to overthrow King James II were rewarded . The Toleration Act of 1689 allowed nonconformists who have their own chapels , teachers , and preachers , censorship was relaxed . The religious landscape of England assumed its present form , with an Anglican established church occupying the middle ground , and Roman Catholics and those Puritans who dissented from the establishment , too strong to be suppressed altogether , having to continue their existence outside the national church rather than controlling it . </P>
<P> James II was overthrown by William of Orange in 1688 , and the new king moved quickly to ease religious tensions . Many of his supporters had been Nonconformist non-Anglicans . With the Act of Toleration enacted on 24 May 1689 , Nonconformists had freedom of worship . That is , those Protestants who dissented from the Church of England such as Baptists , Congregationalists and Quakers were allowed their own places of worship and their own teachers and preachers , subject to acceptance of certain oaths of allegiance . These privileges expressly did not apply to Catholics and Unitarians , and it continued the existing social and political disabilities for dissenters , including exclusion from political office . The religious settlement of 1689 shaped policy down to the 1830s . The Church of England was not only dominant in religious affairs , but it blocked outsiders from responsible positions in national and local government , business , professions and academe . In practice , the doctrine of the divine right of kings persisted Old animosities had diminished , and a new spirit of toleration was abroad . Restrictions on Nonconformists were mostly either ignored or slowly lifted . The Protestants , including the Quakers , who worked to overthrow King James II were rewarded . The Toleration Act of 1689 allowed nonconformists who have their own chapels , teachers , and preachers , censorship was relaxed . The religious landscape of England assumed its present form , with an Anglican established church occupying the middle ground , and Roman Catholics and those Puritans who dissented from the establishment , too strong to be suppressed altogether , having to continue their existence outside the national church rather than controlling it . </P>
who wanted to separate from the church of england
who wanted to separate from the church of england
Puritans
Puritans