The Rise and Fall of Religious Extremism in 17th Century England

The English Civil War of the 1640s and 1650s saw an explosion of radical religious movements that challenged the established church and social order. This period of extreme religious fervor was sparked by the breakdown of religious authority and the opportunity for religious experimentation created by the war.

Some key radical groups that emerged during this time included:

The Levellers

The Levellers were one of the first political movements to call for representative democracy and universal male suffrage. They emerged from the ranks of the New Model Army and pushed for radical political reforms, including:

• Parliaments elected every two years
• Near-universal male suffrage
• Guarantees of freedom of religion
• Equality under the law

Some Levellers even advocated for votes for women, which was an extremely radical idea at the time. They opposed both the monarchy and the idea of rule by Parliament alone, instead calling for government based on popular sovereignty.

However, the Levellers were ultimately suppressed by force after the execution of King Charles I in 1649. Their ideas were seen as too extreme even for the new republican regime.

The Fifth Monarchists

The Fifth Monarchists believed that the execution of Charles I signaled the dawn of the Fifth Monarchy - the kingdom of Christ on earth as prophesied in the Book of Daniel. They called for:

• The abolition of tithes
• Radical redistribution of land to the poor
• Simplification of the law
• Purging of the universities

They wanted rule by the "godly" rather than rule by the people. While tolerated to some extent by the republican regime, they were viewed as dangerous radicals and their calls for armed insurrection were never heeded.

The Diggers

Led by Gerrard Winstanley, the Diggers attempted to create a communist-style commune by occupying and farming common land. They believed all property should be held in common as a "common treasury for all."

Winstanley claimed this experiment prefigured the coming of "a new heaven and a new earth" where private property would be abolished. However, the Digger communes were forcibly broken up within a few months.

The Ranters

The Ranters pushed the ideas of religious liberty to extreme conclusions, teaching that:

• God was in everything, including themselves
• Traditional moral norms had no meaning
• Sin was impossible for those who were aware of their divinity

This led to accusations of sexual libertinism and immorality. While likely a tiny movement, the Ranters provoked a moral panic in 1649-1650 that highlighted fears about where radical religion might lead.

The Seekers

Rather than a formal sect, the Seekers represented a mood of dissatisfaction with all existing forms of organized religion. They abandoned formal religious practices and waited for a new revelation from God.

Many Seekers eventually found a home in the Quaker movement, seeing it as the fulfillment of what they had been seeking.

The Quakers

Emerging in the early 1650s, the Quakers quickly became the largest and most influential radical sect. Key Quaker beliefs and practices included:

• The "inner light" of divine revelation within each person
• Rejection of formal clergy and rituals
• Absolute human equality, including between men and women
• Refusal to take oaths or show deference to social superiors
• Pacifism and conscientious objection

The Quakers grew rapidly, alarming the authorities with their zealous evangelism and disregard for social norms. However, they proved the most enduring of the radical groups.

The Normalization of Religious Radicalism

In the years following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, these radical movements either disappeared or became normalized as part of England's new diverse religious landscape. Several factors contributed to this:

• Persecution and legal restrictions forced groups to become more organized and police their own behavior
• The passing of the revolutionary generation led to a moderating of beliefs
• Conversion rates slowed as sects focused on raising children in the faith rather than evangelizing
• Pragmatism set in as radicals learned to live in the world

The Quakers provide the clearest example of this process. By embracing pacifism and withdrawing from confrontational tactics, they transformed from a feared radical movement to a tolerated religious minority within a few decades.

Ultimately, the explosion of religious radicalism during the Civil War era resulted not in the triumph of any one group, but in the emergence of religious pluralism in England. The restored Church of England was forced to accept that the country would never again be united under one faith.

This outcome - which no one had anticipated at the start of the conflict - showed both the power and limitations of religious extremism. While radical faith could inspire dramatic action and challenge the foundations of society, it struggled to maintain its revolutionary fervor in the face of persecution, generational change, and the pragmatic demands of day-to-day life.

The normalization of former extremists like the Quakers demonstrated that even the most radical religious movements could eventually find an accommodation with the wider society - though it often took decades of conflict and adjustment on both sides to reach that point.

For modern observers, this history offers both warnings about the disruptive potential of religious extremism and hope that even the most radical movements can eventually be integrated into a pluralistic society. The key seems to be allowing time for the revolutionary fervor to cool while gradually expanding the boundaries of toleration.

Of course, every historical situation is unique, and there is no guarantee that modern religious extremists will follow the same path as their 17th century counterparts. But understanding this pivotal period in English history can provide valuable perspective on the cyclical nature of religious radicalism and the ways societies adapt to incorporate new ideologies over time.

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