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Britain Plans To End Exclusion of Catholics From Monarchy

By Howard M. Friedman

London's Guardian and AFP today report that Britain's Labour government has drawn up proposals to amend the country's 300-year ban on Catholics serving as monarch. The change, planned to be introduced after the next election, would be part of other constitutional amendments, including modifications to provisions that now favor male heirs in succession to the throne. According to the Guardian: "The 1688 Bill of Rights , the Act of Settlement in 1701 and Act of Union in 1707 - reinforced by the provisions of the Coronation Oath Act 1688 - effectively excluded Catholics or their spouses from the succession and provided for the Protestant succession.... The law also requires the monarch on accession to make before parliament a declaration rejecting Catholicism." (See prior related posting.) The changes would require consent of all the Commonwealth nations since Britain's monarch is also formally their head of state. Many experts say the changes would also lead to disestablishment of the Church of England as the country's official religious body.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 25, 2008 (boomark / email).