The Theory of Religious Liberty in England 1603–39

Originally published in 1937, this book contains the text of the Thirlwall Prize-winning essay for that year on the subject of religious liberty in the reigns of James I and Charles I. Lyon details how the concept of freedom of thought was first formulated in England by a variety of Christian sects, including the Arminian Baptists and the many factions within Presbyterianism, at a time where the religious climate in England was still tense and uncertain in the wake of the English Reformation. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in English religious history and the concept of tolerance.

Preface; 1. Introductory; 2. The position of the idea of toleration in 1603; 3. The Anglican and governmental justification of persecution 1603–39; 4. The approach to the separatist idea of religious liberty: the theory of the separated churches; 5. The birth of the separatist idea of religious liberty: the theory of the separated churches; 6. The theory of the Anglican Latitudinarian divines; 7. The theory of the lay Latitudinarians; 8. Roman Catholic theory; 9. Conclusion. The theory and practice of toleration; Appendix. The theory of the family of love; Index.