Persecution or Prejudice?

Abstract

In 1811, Lord Sidmouth introduced a bill before the House of Lords which would require new qualifications in the registration of dissenting preachers. While a staunch churchman and typically unsympathetic to dissent overall, Sidmouth saw his bill as being helpful to nonconformists. The purpose of his action was to remove uneducated and unqualified itinerants who had free reign to preach across the countryside. But nonconformists perceived his act as a new avenue of persecution. They saw this measure as a threat to their religious liberties. Dissenters from all ranks rallied together to protest the bill. Such a unified voice was unprecedented among nonconformists and they discovered the might of their political power as the measure was defeated. This article seeks to understand the motivations of Sidmouth’s intentions, whether of persecution or of prejudice.