The Parliamentary Reform of the Church of England in the 19th Century

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England is a fairly good example of the reformation of the foundations of the system of power. thus, the country made the necessary changes not with the help of revolutions and social unrest, but with the help of gradual, sometimes especially effective, and sometimes slow, changes with the help of reforms. England is one of the first countries that took steps towards the formation of a democratic state and was able to preserve the existing institutions of power. Access to liberal freedoms and allowing the people to participate in elections contributed to the formation of a legal and civil State. In addition, there was the involvement of broad strata of the urban and rural population in the political and state spheres of society.

Parliamentary reform in England was a matter of special necessity in the nineteenth century. Despite the fact that some members of the country’s government opposed the changes, support for the reform grew in the party (Spurr 79). This was due to the need to partially expand the rights of voters, which would contribute to the increasing role of the middle class. Thus, the main objectives of the implemented parliamentary reform were to address the issues of unequal distribution of jobs, the expansion of suffrage and “rotten boroughs”. This work aims to examine how these aspects were implemented and how they affected the society and the Church of England in nineteenth-century England.

A significant person in the process of adopting the parliamentary reform of 1832 was Prime Minister Earl Grey. He was a representative of the Whig party, which campaigned for the adoption of some amendments to the bill of England, but not all of their initiatives were crowned with success. The activist noted that despite the rather critical nature of the reformation, it is necessary to avoid revolution (Miller 17). Only the third reform project in 1832 received the royal.

One of the goals of the parliamentary reform of the Church of England was to allow the issue of suffrage. Thus, the Great Reform Act of 1832 disenfranchised 56 districts of the country and created 67 new electoral districts. Moreover, its consequence was the expansion of the property qualification in the districts and the creation of a single franchise in the districts. This change granted voting rights to all homeowners who paid annual rent.

Another change that followed the adoption of the bill was the prohibition of women to participate in parliamentary elections. The reason for this action was that the voter was defined as a male representative. However, not all men were still given the opportunity to participate in the elections. The adopted property qualification assumed that the majority of working men still did not have the right to head.

Another innovation of the reform was the division of the country into rural and urban administrative districts, or counties. Management passed to county councils, elected for 3 years by people who paid taxes. The justices of the Peace, in turn, retained only their legal functions. In rural settlements, the parish remained the main administrative unit. The leading position in it was held by the parish council. Its functions include the management of church affairs and the collection of taxes. Subsequently, the Liberals introduced the law on local self-government and rural parish councils became local authorities. Thus, bourgeois-democratic principles of governance were introduced.

The other change that concerned the right to vote was the adoption of secret ballot. This prompted the reform of 1867, although earlier proposals to introduce this measure were rejected. The expansion of the electoral corps, which allowed workers and tenants to participate in the elections, made a significant contribution. Initially, the purpose of this measure was to attract voters to a particular party, but it had no effect, as it was conditioned by pressure from the employer or landlord. Thus, the introduction of secret voting provided a guarantee of freedom of choice and contributed to the development of the democratization of the electoral system.

The first acts of parliamentary reform undertaken were of a favorable nature in relation to jobs. Among them was the adoption of the factory law and the abolition of serfdom. The law prohibited children under the age of 12 from working more than 48 hours a week, and for young people under the age of eighteen, no more than 68 hours. At the same time, the actions of the parliament were also negative, which undermined the principles of humane treatment of the population of the country. Thus, the number of people who could work in nursing homes for the elderly and sick was limited. Most people went to workhouses where the conditions of presence were substandard and inappropriate.

Moreover, entrepreneurs resorted to using unskilled ore and exploiting women and children. The fragmentation into many simple operations of the production process contributed to this. Despite the constant growth of profits, the bourgeoisie did not raise the wages of workers, which did not increase their level and quality of life. In addition, the right of freedom of employment did not impose any obligations on employers to individuals. And the law on farms and servants even more contributed to the establishment of their unequal position. Thus, the objective of the parliamentary reform on resolving the issue of workplaces did not have much effectiveness and still required changes in favor of employees.

Another goal of the parliamentary reform was to address the problem of so-called “rotten boroughs”. This phenomenon consists in the appearance in England of sparsely populated settlements that had the right to elect members of parliament (Kautsky 121). The reason for their emergence was the development and emergence of new industrial centers that did not have their own deputies in parliament. These villages, despite the rapid decrease in the population, and in some cases its complete absence, still continued to send votes to parliament.

The existence of “rotten boroughs” gave a significant advantage to aristocrats and employers over those who operated in cities. This was manifested in the upper house, the House of Lords, and in the lower house, the House of Commons. The decisive moment in the fight against this phenomenon was the July revolution of 1830. After it, the parliamentary reform in 1832 helped to reduce the number of “rotten boroughs”, and large industrial centers received the right to send deputies and the electoral qualification was lowered. However, all these actions did not lead to significant success, as the number of voters increased slightly.

The parliamentary reform also had an impact on the religious aspect of the life of English society in the 19th century. One of the important events that played as an impetus for changes in the church system of the country. Of particular importance were the events of 1536, which manifested itself in the destruction of monasteries (Bernard 391). At that time, Henry VIII wanted to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon due to the fact that she could not bear him an heir (Woodward 3). Since the church and the pope denied the dissolution of the marriage, Henry founded the Anglican Church. The Act of Supremacy in 1534 confirmed the break with Rome, proclaimed Henry the Supreme Head of the church.

Monasteries began to own more than a quarter of all cultivated land in England. By destroying the monastic system, Henry could seize all its wealth and property, while eliminating its papist influence. However, sources underline that “the religious changes Henry VIII introduced were undertaken chiefly with a view to increasing his power, swelling his coffers, and exacting stricter obedience from his subjects” (Rex 174). Thus, the Anglican faith was established as the official religion of the country and the monarchs preaching this faith were made the head of the church. Two parties, the Tories and the Whigs, joined together to create the principles of parliament relating to the Church of England.

The Tories proclaimed the monarch as the supreme authority of the country, who obeyed the will of the Almighty. At the same time, the actions of the head of state were limited by law and the transfer of this status took place according to the principle of heredity. Another principle that was established by this party was the urge to prevent tolerance towards Catholics and Protestants who disagree with religion.

The Whigs, in turn, argued that the monarch should share his power with parliament and be accountable to the people and the law. The transfer of status could be canceled if the common good was canceled. The Whigs also insisted that the Anglican Church needed urgent reform due to its lack of modernity. Unlike the Tories, this party did not pursue the idea of intolerance towards Protestant dissenters, but this aspect did not apply to Catholics. The Whigs controlled the elected House of Commons, while the Tories dominated the House of Lords.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Anglican Church experienced some changes as a result of all the reforms. Thus, the parliamentary act of 1843 expanded the number of parishes and noted the weak position of the church in relation to the industrial cities of the country. Changes in parliament led to the construction of new churches in various cities of England. A special push in this area was made during the reign of Queen Victoria, caused by the Oxford movement “High Church”. St Mary’s Church, Studley Royal, North Yorkshire, was built in those days.

Along with the increase in religious buildings, the number of clergy of the Anglican Church has increased. However, they all pursued different beliefs. Hence, on the one hand, there were evangelists promoting evangelical teachings, sermons and Bible study. On the other hand, churchmen revived rituals, incense and vestments that were new to people. In addition, the reform activity of the government affected the fact that Christians who do not belong to the Anglican Church, such as Catholics, were expelled from cities and deprived of public offices. This caused excitement and the growth of adherents of non-Christian places of worship. Research shows that “increased opportunities for women, developing urbanization and enhanced communication networks facilitated their involvement at a number of levels in diverse religious groups” (Walsham 602). To solve this problem and reduce the tense religious situation, an act of 1871 was adopted, which abolished all religious requirements for attending higher educational institutions. In addition, in the nineteenth century, also during the parliamentary reform, there was an equation in the political rights of Catholics and members of numerous Christian sects.

It is worth mentioning that the doctrinal formalization of Anglicanism began under Edward VI and continued under Elizabeth I. Such documents as the “39 articles” (1571) and the “Book of Common Prayers” are a reflection of the activities of these monks (Douglas 2; Asadu 114). Along with numerous changes, it was allowed to read and interpret the Bible in English (Walsh 13). The main idea of the Church of England is absolute predestination, according to which the Almighty predestined sinners to damnation, and the righteous to salvation. An important aspect was the fact that good deeds and intentions, unlike the Catholic Church, do not lead to salvation. The Church also recognizes the supremacy of the monarch, while following the episcopate and leaving rituals and vestments. Because of these features, she was subjected to considerable criticism from the Puritans. In the nineteenth century, during various reforms in the country, several main trends took shape in the Anglican Church. It was divided into a high church following the apostolic traditions, a low Church allowing individual freedom of faith and a broad church that proclaimed tolerance for manifestations of Anglican modernism.

Thus, it can be concluded that the parliamentary reform of the nineteenth century in England had little practical significance for the country. There were two main reasons for this. The first is the fierce opposition of the Tory party, and the second is the initiative and implementation of changes by the right-wing, moderate wing of the liberal movement, that is, the Whigs. These representatives aimed to preserve the power of the landed aristocracy and allow the banking oligarchy to take political power. However, the Whigs, having consolidated their position in power, did not want to share it with the middle and working class.

At the same time, the importance of reforms for the political side of society should not be underestimated. Thus, it was proved that the introduction of political changes is quite possible if public opinion takes part in them. Moreover, the liberal movement, which advocated the step-by-step implementation of democratic electoral reform, received even greater approval. In addition, there was an equation of forces between the chambers and the monarchy, and the Cabinet of Ministers began to be formed from representatives of the parliamentary majority.

The parliamentary reform of 1832 also contributed to the division of parties into liberals and conservatives, that is, the creation of a two-party system. However, as a result of these changes, this initiative did not lead to significant changes in the election procedure and the determination of the composition of the elected. Moreover, the concept of secret ballot has emerged. Minor modifications to the political system satisfied both the Tories and the Whigs, since they did not seek to complicate the electoral system and increase the financial costs of the election campaign.

The prerequisites for the reformation in England have been appearing for many years. In particular, this aspect concerned not only the political and social life of society, but also the church and faith. During the changes initiated, including by the Parliament, the religious aspect of the functioning of the country, there were changes in the doctrine and worship. In addition, the transformations included reforms in church practice, church-state relations and the system of canon law. The peculiarity of the reformation of the Church of England was the prevalence of the initiative on the part of the government. This fact has had a greater impact on the speed and progress of the reform. Also, it affected the formation of the system of canon law. Such documents as the “Book of Common Prayers” and “39 articles” were the driving forces for the completion of the modernization of the church sphere.

Further, the parliamentary reforms that took place in the nineteenth century eased the tension in society on political grounds. Thus, England avoided social upheavals and revolutions. The parliamentary reform of England implied measures to increase the number of representatives at elections from various counties, to reduce the time interval between elections, as well as to eliminate “rotten places” that allowed the aristocracy to control the results of voting. The most important consequence of the reforms was an increase in the number of voters. The expansion of the electorate contributed to the development of one of the most valuable principles of a democratic state, the participation of the people in government.

Works Cited

Asadu, George C. “Five Hundred Years of Reformation: The Impact of the Archbishops Cranmer on the Church of England.” Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development, vol. 2, no. 4, 2019.

Bernard, George. “The Dissolution of the Monasteries.” History, vol. 96, no. 324, 2011, pp. 390-409.

Douglas, Brian. “The Eucharistic Theology of the Articles of Religion.” Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, 2019.

Kautsky, Karl. “Parliamentarism and the Parties in England.” Karl Kautsky on Democracy and Republicanism, 2019, pp. 118-129.

Miller, Ryan. “A Dire Need for Parliamentary Reform: or, the Role of Elite Fears in Britain’s Great Reform Bill of 1832.” The Virginia Tech Undergraduate Historical Review, vol. 10, 2021, pp. 13-25.

Rex, Richard. Henry VIII and the English Reformation, St. Martin’s Press, 1993.

Spurr, J. The Post-Reformation 1603-1714, Harlow, 2006.

Walsh, John. “The Church of England c.1689–c.1833. From Toleration to Tractarianism.” Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Walsham, Alexandra. “Catholic Reformation in Protestant Britain.” British Catholic History, vol. 32, no. 4, 2014, pp. 600-603.

Woodward, George W.O. The Dissolution of the Monasteries, Andover, 1968.

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The Parliamentary Reform of the Church of England in the 19th Century

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