In the first year of the reign of William and Mary, following the ‘Glorious Revolution’ and the flight of James II, Parliament passed a Toleration Act, giving relief to Nonconformist bodies.
Such groups as Baptists and Congregationalists, though required to register as Nonconformists, were permitted to have their own places of worship and their own pastors and teachers (provided these were willing to accept the Thirty-nine Articles and take certain oaths of loyalty). Catholics were also included under this act, though all Nonconformists were still subject to restrictions and debarred from public office.