The Schism Act or Established Church Act (13 Ann., c. 7) was a never-enforced 1714 Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

which was repealed in 1718. The Act stipulated that anyone who wished to ''keep'' (manage or own) a public or private school, or act as tutor, must first be granted a licence from a bishop. Also, he (or she) must conform to the liturgy of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and to have taken in the past year the rites of that Church. The Act sought to constrain, convert or curtail

Dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

schools (

dissenting academies The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who Nonconformist (Protestantism), did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a sign ...

), but on the day the Act was due to come into force, Queen Anne died and the Act was never enforced. Upon the Hanoverian succession in 1714 and the subsequent supremacy of Whigs, the Act was repealed by the

Religious Worship Act 1718 The Religious Worship Act 1718 ( 5 Geo. 1. c. 4) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It repealed the Schism Act 1714.Mark A. Thomson, ''A Constitutional History of England. 1642 to 1801'' (London: Methuen, 1938), p. 276, n. 1. Notes ...

.Dudley Julius Medley, ''A Student's Manual of English Constitutional History. Sixth Edition'' (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1925), p. 649.

References

History of Christianity in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Education Acts Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1714 Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament {{GB-statute-stub