The Ranters were one of a number of dissenting groups that emerged around the time of the English Commonwealth (1649–1660). They were largely common people and the movement was widespread throughout England, though they were not organised and had no leader.

History

The chaos of the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641� ...

, the execution of King Charles I and the animosity between the Presbyterians and Independents during the era of the Commonwealth gave rise to countless sectarian groups that were attempting to make sense of their society and place within that society. The Ranters were one such group. They were regarded as

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

by the established Church and seem to have been regarded by the government as a threat to social order. The quote "...the bishops, Charles and the Lords have had their turn, overturn, so your turn shall be next...", published in a Ranter pamphlet, no doubt caused some concern in the halls of power. The Ranters denied the authority of churches, of

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

, of the current ministry and of services, instead calling on men to listen to the divine within them. In many ways they resemble the 14th century Brethren of the Free Spirit. In fact, they were causing such controversy, that by the early 1650s multiple anti-Ranter pamphlets were circulating throughout Britain. The origin for the term "Ranter" seems to come from an anonymous pamphlet titled "A Justification of the Mad Crew", where the word rant was used in reference to the enemies of those espousing this particular view, equating ranting with hypocrisy. The anonymous author calls those who would eventually be deemed Ranters "the Mad Crew" instead. There is also a confluence between the term "Ranter" with the verb rent, as in to be rent away from God. Most written evidence points to the use of "Ranter" as an insult by the enemies of the sect and not a self designated moniker. By the 1660s, the term became attached to any group that promoted theological deviance but since most of the literary evidence we have was created by those opposed to Ranters in general, it is difficult to determine their exact creed.McConville, B. (1995). "Confessions of an American Ranter." Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, 62(2), 238-248. Retrieved March 8, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27773805 There are few primary sources actually written by Ranters, but those that do exist give us a clearer picture of what they believed. The most famous English member,

Laurence Clarkson Laurence Clarkson (1615–1667), sometimes called Claxton, born in Preston, Lancashire, was an English theologian and accused heretic. He was the most outspoken and notorious of the loose collection of radical Protestants known as the Ranters. ...

or Claxton, joined the Ranters after encountering them in 1649. Although he does not mention them directly, his 1650 tract called ''A Single Eye'' is widely believed to have been inspired by this dissenting group and directly reflects their views. Other less well known members of the Ranter cohort included Abiezer Coppe and Joseph Salmon. Their central idea was

pantheistic Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ...

, that God is essentially in every creature, including themselves. They embraced

antinomianism Antinomianism (Ancient Greek: ἀντί 'anti''"against" and νόμος 'nomos''"law") is any view which rejects laws or legalism and argues against moral, religious or social norms (Latin: mores), or is at least considered to do so. The term ha ...

and believed that Christians are freed by grace from the necessity of obeying Mosaic Law, rejecting the very notion of obedience. They held that believers are free from all traditional restraints and that sin is a product only of the imagination. The Ranters revived the Brethren of the Free Spirit's

amoralism Moral nihilism (also known as ethical nihilism) is the meta-ethical view that nothing is morally right or wrong. Moral nihilism is distinct from moral relativism, which allows for actions to be wrong relative to a particular culture or indivi ...

and "stressed the desire to surpass the human condition and become godlike". They denied the authority of the church, of accepted religious practice and of scripture. In fact, they denied the power of any authority in general.

Gerrard Winstanley Gerrard Winstanley (19 October 1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer, political philosopher, and activist during the period of the Commonwealth of England. Winstanley was the leader and one of the founde ...

, a leader of another English dissenting group called the

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with agrarian socialism. Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard, amongst many others, were known as True Levellers in 1649, in reference to their split from ...

, commented on Ranter principles by denoting them as "a general lack of moral values or restraint in worldly pleasures". However another prominent Digger, William Everard was, some time after the failure of the Digger communes, imprisoned as a ranter, and later confined to

Bethlem Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably ''Bedlam'', a 1946 film with Bo ...

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

, author of ''

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christianity, Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a prog ...

'', wrote in his autobiography, ''Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners'', that he had encountered Ranters prior to his

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

conversion. In England, they came into contact and even rivalry with the early

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

, who were often falsely accused of direct association with them. In the American colonies, there is evidence that Ranters were actually breakaway Quakers who did not agree with the standardization of belief that occurred in the late 1670s. Although the Quakers retained their loose, sect-like character until the 1660s, they began to formalize their worship practices and set of beliefs in order to gain some stability in the New World; this in turn pushed out those who did not fall in line, creating a group of people referred to as Ranters. (Whether these people were directly inspired by the Ranters in England or if the moniker was simply imported via anti-Ranter pamphlets that were so popular during this era is debatable.) The historian

J. C. Davis J. C. (Colin) Davis (28 May 1940 - 25 July 2021) was a British historian, whose work often focused on the Utopian thinkers of the 17th-century. He has been described as a "historian of political and religious thought and a brilliant and provoca ...

has suggested that the Ranters were a myth created by conservatives in order to endorse traditional values by comparison with an unimaginably radical other. Richard L. Greaves, in a review of Davis' book, suggests that though a very radical fringe existed, it was probably never as organized as conservatives of the time suggested.Greaves, R. L, (1988). "Review: Fear, Myth and History: The Ranters and Their Historians by J. C. Davis", ''Church History'', 57(3), pp. 376–378. . . In the mid-19th century, the name was often applied to the Primitive Methodists, with reference to their crude and often noisy preaching.

History

See also

References

Further reading