The Occasional Conformity Act (also known as the Toleration Act 1711) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (statute number 10 Anne c. 6), the long title of which is "An Act for preserving the Protestant Religion" which passed on 20 December 1711.
Its purpose was to prevent Nonconformists and Roman Catholics from taking "occasional" communion in the Church of England in order to become eligible for public office under the Corporation Act and the Test Act. Under these acts only members of the Church of England were allowed to hold any office of public trust. Previous Occasional Conformity bills had been debated in 1702 and 1704. The 1711 Act was repealed in 1719.
Famous quotes containing the words occasional, conformity and/or act:
“However much we admire the orator’s occasional bursts of eloquence, the noblest written words are commonly as far behind or above the fleeting spoken language as the firmament with its stars is behind the clouds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Belonging to a group can provide the child with a variety of resources that an individual friendship often cannot—a sense of collective participation, experience with organizational roles, and group support in the enterprise of growing up. Groups also pose for the child some of the most acute problems of social life—of inclusion and exclusion, conformity and independence.”
—Zick Rubin (20th century)
“‘Tis much he dares,
And to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor
To act in safety.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)