I shall attempt to show the position at the beginning of the period in question, referring back to the Edict of Nantes in 1598 and then illustrating the progression through the periods of Cardinals Richlieu and Mazarin, and then entering the early eighteenth century with Louis XIV.

I will then move onto the British Isles. I hope to give a picture of the English religious position and the relationship to the monarchy. Following England, I will discuss Scotland and finally Ireland, following a similar template. I feel that we will see the effect of religious dissent on political stability most easily at this point, in Ireland.. I believe this to be because of the transplanted nature of sections in the population. The original English Catholics, the native population and then Protestant English settlers.

Religion is still unsettling modern governments. We need look no further than our own country to see this. Therefore, in history it is quite natural that it should cause similar probl

As mentioned above, the Anglican church of England was the established Church and the time of the reign of James I. The country had previously been Roman Catholic until changed during the reign of Henry VIII. Although the Catholic population were not inclined to attempt to overthrow the new national religion, the Protestant majority were very fearful of a return to Papacy, and consequently through government imposed harsh constraints on the dissenters. The non conforming religions were not even recognized, and persons conducting their lives could play no part in the ruling structure of the country.

I would therefore say that the threat to political stability posed by religious dissenters in the British Isles was greater than that faced by France.

This reinforces my previous contention that religious dissenters were controlled for political dominance and stability. To go to such lengths must lead us to suppose that Louis did in some way see a need to browbeat Protestants to maintain his position as an absolutist monarch.

At the turn of the century following the signing of the Edict of Nantes, there was an air of toleration towards non – conformist religions. Although not the desired religion at this time there was no direct pressure or measures in place forcing individuals to convert to Catholicism.

Moving onto Scotland, and under James VI the Kirk, as it was known, existed as an uncomfortable compromise between Presbyterian Assemblies and Bishops. The Scots church favoured the Calvinist approach of predestinanism. The Roman Catholic faith did however survive in the Highlands, where many of the Clan chiefs retained their denomination. It was as though they were inaccessible to the push for uniformity elsewhere. The Lowlands were much more involved with the struggle between governmental uniformity and protection of their established system of worship.

Some topics in this essay:
Roman Catholic, Louis XIV, British Isles, Edict Nantes, VIII Catholic, Anthology Sources, , Laudians Laudianism, William Laud, Protestant English, roman catholic, british isles, edict nantes, louis xiv, political stability, religious uniformity, english settlers, revocation edict nantes, catholic faith, religious dissent, church england,