Presbyterians and religious radicalism
Charles policies towards Scotland
1625-Charles I was crowned as king of England and Scotland, however he did not visit Scotland for his coronation until 1633.
The Scottish were dominantly Presbyterians (strict protestants) and strongly opposed Arminianism.
Because of this, scots held more loyalty towards land chiefs than their own king
Things that counted towards their poor relationship
Charles refused to be Coranoted an the stone of scone-rejected Scottish tradition
He turned the Kirk into St Giles Cathedral- this was seen as a catholic ideal
Whilst visiting Scotland for the first time in 1633, Charles immediately tried to establish reform the the kirk.
1637-Whilst on his visit Charles announced his intentions of replacing the scottish prayer book in order to establish. uniformity within England, Scotland and Wales.
The Scots sore this as a threat to their independence -started the Rebellion of the Scotts.
The Scottish rebeliion
23rd July 1637-The Laudian prayer book was read out for the first time within Scotland-triggered widespread opposition from the Presbyterian scots
Aim of the Presbyterian Scots was to show Charles that he should withdraw and stop his meddling in what they called their area of influence
1638: 3000,000 Scots signed the National Covenant in protest of Charles actions
Charles was determine to crush the rebellion however it only escalated into what was known as the Bishop wars
Radical religious groups
After the Scottish rebellion, Charles' authority weakened over the church and state.
Growth of religious divisions expanded and radical groups began to arise
Baptists-Believed in adult baptism instead of infant baptism. They separated from the Church of England and preached that only those who were adult baptised could gain salvation
5th Monarchists-Radical millenarians who, by, 1650 had turned into a political grouping, led by major general Thomas Harrison
Quakerism
Quakerism was one of the most significant forms of religious radicalism and was developed during the late 1650s
Significant for 2 reasons
By the late 1650s the Quaker movement grew by 50,000 members
Before the 1660s the Quaker movement was willing to take more political action and even turned to violence if necessary
The development of Quakerism was linked to the New Model army as many Quakers served within the Army
Fear of the Quakers increased after 1658-As political order fell after Cromwell's death, Quaker numbers increased-Their chief patron-John Lamber became much more influential
Restoration of the monarchy was seen by the political elite as a way of reimposing order and removing the threat of a military dictatorship under Lambert, based on Quaker support.