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The principle that none but persons professing the established religion were eligible for public employment was adopted by the legislatures of both England and Scotland soon after the Reformation. In England the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity and the severe penalties denounced against recusants, whether Roman Catholic or Nonconformist, were affirmations of this principle. The Act of 7 James I c. 2 provided that all such as were naturalized or restored in blood should receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
It was not, however, until the reign of Charles II that actually receiving of the communion of the Church of England was made a condition precedent to the holding of public offices. The earliest imposition of this test was by the Corporation Act of 1661 (3 Charles II st. 2, c. 1), enacting that, besides taking the oath of allegiance and supremacy and subscribing a declaration against the Solemn League and Covenant, all members of corporations 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 act was followed by the Test Act of 1673Events The English Test Act was passed. It disallowed Catholics from holding high public office. France begins its expedition against Ceylon. March 18 John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to the Quakers. May 17 Trader (25 Charles II. C. 2). The immediate cause of the Test Act (the full title of which is 'An act for preventing dangers which may happen from popish recusants') was the king's declaration of indulgenceThe Royal Declaration of Indulgence was Charles II of England's attempt to extend religious liberty to Protestant nonconformists in his realms, by suspending the execution of the penal laws that punished recusants from the Church of England. Charles issue, dispensing with laws inflicting disabilities on Nonconformists. This act enforced upon all persons filling any office, civil or military, the obligation of taking the oaths of supremacy and allegiance and subscribing a declaration against transubstantiationAccording to Roman Catholic dogma, transubstantiation is the change of the substance of the Eucharistic elements — bread and wine — into the body and blood of Jesus Christ (although they retain the physical accidents — i. appearance, taste, texture, etc., and also of receiving the sacrament within three months after admittance to office. The oath was:
The act did not extend to peers; but in 1678Events August 10 Peace of Nijmegen ends war between France and Netherlands September 6 Titus Oates begins to present allegations of the " Popish Plot", a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate king Charles II of England October 17 British politician Sir Edmun 30 Charles II. ft. 2 enacted that all peers and members of the House of Commons should make a declaration against transubstantiation, invocation of saintsIn general, the term saint is used to refer to someone thought to be especially virtuous and holy. This person may or may not be canonized, recognized or venerated by a religion. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus which means "holy. Variou, and the sacrifice of the massMass is a property of physical objects that, roughly speaking, measures the amount of matter they contain. It is a central concept of classical mechanics and related subjects. Strictly speaking, there are two different quantities called mass Inertial mass - a special exception being made in favour of the duke of YorkThe title Duke of York is a title of nobility usually given to the second son of the British monarch, unless the title is already held by a male descendant of an earlier Duke of York. The current Duke of York is HRH The Prince Andrew, second son of Her Ma.
The provisions of the Test Act were violated by both Charles II. and James II on the ground of the dispensing power claimed by the Stuart kings. In the well-known case of Godden v. Hales (II State Trials, Ii66), an action for penalties under the Test Act brought against an officer in the army, the judges decided in favour of the dispensing power - a power finally abolished by the Bill of Rights. After a considerable number of amendments and partial repeals by the legislature of the acts of 1661, 1672, and 1678, and of acts of indemnity to protect persons under certain circumstances from penalties incurred under the Test Act, the necessity of receiving the sacrament as a qualification for office was abolished by 9 George IV C. 17, and all acts requiring the taking of oaths and declarations against transubstantiation, &c., were repealed by the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 (10 Geo. IV. c. 7).
This general repeal has been followed by the special repeal of the Corporation Act by the Promissory Oaths Act 1871, of the Test Act by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863, and of the act of 1678 by an act of 1866 (29 & 30 Victoria c. 19). Religious tests remained in the English universities until 1871, in Dublin University until 1873, and the Scottish universities until 1889.
To be a member of the Church of England was a necessary condition precedent for holding most university or college offices by the Act of Uniformity of 1662, and such offices were not affected by the Toleration Act of 1688 and the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829. In 1871 the University Tests Act abolished subscriptions to the articles of the Church of England, all declarations and oaths respecting religious belief, and all compulsory attendance at public worship in the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham. There is an exception confining to persons in holy orders of the Church of England degrees in divinity and positions restricted to persons in holy orders, such as the divinity and Hebrew professorships.
(Adapted from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica)
(The '16 Charles II c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter. This is the method used for citing Acts of Parliament until 1963.)