On 9 May 1828 the Sacramental Test Act, which removed most prohibitions on nonconformists and Catholics holding public office, was passed by the British Parliament.
In 1661 the Corporation Act had laid stipulated all mayors and officials in municipal corporations to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion in accordance with the rites of the Church of England. These public officials also were required to take the oath of allegiance, the oath of supremacy and non-resistance, and to declare that the Solemn League and Covenant (a treaty between the English Parliament and Scotland for the preservation of the reformed religion in Scotland, the reformation of religion in England and Ireland "according to the word of God and the example of the best reformed churches," and the extirpation of popery and prelacy) to be false.
In 1673, The Test Act demanded all holders of civil and military offices and places of trust under the Crown to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy and receive the Anglican sacrament. However, the practice was not universally enforced. For example, an annual Indemnity Act was frequently passed which ensured that Protestant Dissenters were permitted to hold public office.
In 1827, George Canning became the new Prime Minister when Lord Liverpool suffered a stroke. Lord Eldon, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Bathurst, and Lord Westmoreland, known anti-Catholics, refushed to be park of Canning's ministry which was based in Catholic emancipation.
Canning persuaded Henry Brougham and George Tierney, Whig leaders, to form a coalition not to repeal the Test and Corporation Acts or promote Parliamentary reform. Brougham declared, "My principle is - "anything" to lock the door forever on Eldon and Co." Unfortunately, Canning died on 8 August, and the coalition fell apart. The Duke of Wellington formed the next ministry.
Lord John Russell introduced the Sacramental Test Bill on 26 February 1828. The bill's purpose was to Repeal the Test and Corporation Acts. Russell advocated for religious liberty on the grounds that doing so was a more effective safeguard for the Church of England than exclusion. He also spoke out using the most sacred rite of Christianity for secular purposes, calling the practice "reprehensible." Sir Robert Peel, a British Conservative, supported the Bill on the government's behalf on the condition that the following declaration would be included:
"I, A.B., do solemnly declare that I will never exercise any power, authority, or influence, which I may possess by virtue of the office of - to injure or weaken the Protestant Church as it is by law established within this realm, or to disturb it in the possession of any rights or privileges to which it is by law entitled. "
Having passed the House of Commons and approved by committee, the declaration was sent up to the House of Lords. Peel met the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, along with the Bishops of London, Durham, Chester, and Llandaff, in March 1828 to solicit their support of the Bill. Lord Russell wrote on 31 March, "Peel is a very pretty hand at hauling down his colours. It is a really gratifying thing to force the enemy to give up his first line, that none but churchmen are worthy to serve the state, and I trust we shall soon make him give up the second, that none but Protestants are."
John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, a British barrister and politician and twice Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, wrote...
"the administration have - to their shame, be it said - got the Archbishops and most of the Bishops to support their revolutionary Bill. I voted as long ago as in the years, I think, 1787, 1789, and 1790, against a similar measure; Lord North and Pitt opposing it as destructive of the Church Establishment - Dr Priestley, a Dissenting minister, then asserting, that he had laid a train of gunpowder under the Church, which would blow it up; and Dr Price, another Dissenting minister, blessing God that he could depart in peace, as the revolution in France would lead here to the destruction of all union between Church and State. The young men and lads in the House of Commons are too young to remember these things. From 1790 to 1827, many and various have been the attempts to relieve the Catholics, but through those 37 years nobody has thought, and evinced that thought, of proposing such a Bill as this is Parliament, as necessary, or fit, as between the Church and the Dissenters. Canning, last year, positively declared that he would oppose it altogether. "
Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, a major figure in the early 19th Century Whig party, wrote to his son Henry Fox...
"It is the greatest victory over the 'principle' of persecution & exclusion yet obtained. Practically there have been greater such as the Toleration Act in W 3d's time & the Catholick bill of 1792. Practically too the Catholick Emancipation when it comes will be a far more important measure, more immediate & more extensive in its effects - but in 'principle' this is the greatest of them all as it explodes the real Tory doctrine 'that Church however, the Bishop of Llandaff managed to have the words "upon the true faith of a Christian" inserted into the document, but Lord Eldon's efforts to have the words "I am a Protestand" included into the declaration were defeated. A religious test thus remained on the statute book until repealed in 1866. The Bill received its third reading on 2 May and the Royal Assent on 9 May.
The question of Catholic emancipation became prominent following the passage of the Bill. Sir Francis Burdett raised the issue of Catholic emancipation in the House of Commons, while Lord Lansdowne did so in the House of Lords. The Catholic Relief Act 1829 repealed the Test Act 1678, which required all MPs to take the oath of abjuration, declare against transubstantiation and against the invocation of the Virgin Mary and the sacrifice of the mass.
The "upon the true faith of a Christian" phrase in the new oath remained a problem for Jewish candidates for political office, delaying the emancipation of the Jews in the United Kingdom until 1858. Atheists remained barred until 1886.
MEET REGINA JEFFERS:
Regina Jeffers, a public classroom teacher for thirty-nine years, considers herself a Jane Austen enthusiast. She is the author of nine Austen-inspired novels, including "Darcy's Passions, Darcy's Temptation, Vampire Darcy's Desire, Captain Wentworth's Persuasion, The Phantom of Pemberley", "Christmas at Pemberley", "The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy", "Honor and Hope, "and the upcoming "The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy". She also writes Regency romances: "The Scandal of Lady Eleanor, A Touch of Velvet, A Touch of Cash'emere, A Touch of Grace", "A Touch of Love "and" The First Wives' Club". A Time Warner Star Teacher and Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, Jeffers often serves as a consultant in language arts and media literacy. Currently living outside Charlotte, North Carolina, she spends her time with her writing, gardening, and her adorable grandson.
