Charles Bradlaugh MP claims the right to take a secular oath in Parliament

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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Charles Bradlaugh, MP for Northampton, an atheist, asserts the right to affirm at his swearing in to the House of Commons instead of taking a religious oath. However, this is refused, and after attempting to take his seat regardless, he is arrested and even briefly imprisoned. He is excluded from the House and a by-election held, but his constituency re-elects him four times in succession. Eventually, eight years later, a new Oaths Act is passed which allows the right to swear by affirmation, as he had demanded.

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Charles Bradlaugh MP claims the right to take a secular oath in Parliament". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 December 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=18809, accessed 23 November 2024.]

18809 Charles Bradlaugh MP claims the right to take a secular oath in Parliament 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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