The Anti-State Church Association was an organisation aimed at the disestablishment of the Church of England. Steps towards cutting the symbiotic links that currently tied the British State to the Anglican Church had already been taken earlier in the century, when Catholic Emancipation was made law in 1829. But the founders of the Association, including Edward Miall and the Baptist leader F. A. Cox, believed that further reforms needed to be implemented. They encouraged greater numbers of non-conformist MPs, of which the Quaker John Bright was an important example when he entered Parliament in 1843. The Association was never able to secure a Parliamentary majority for disestablishment, but their efforts did contribute to the eventual …
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Anti-State Church Association founded". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4871, accessed 23 November 2024.]
