The English Bill of Rights was a revolutionary document that afforded more authority to Parliament. It was written as a response to the absolutist ideas and actions of the Stuart monarchs. Absolutism dictated that a monarch’s power was God-given, which meant the monarch retained most of the state’s power, and, in the case of England, left very little for Parliament (Wiesner-Hanks, 318). In 1689, England was still plagued with religious and financial conflicts. After James II followed his brother Charles in assuming the English throne and appointed Catholics to several important positions within the government, the worried English Parliament put young Protestant rulers William and Mary on the throne (Wiesner-Hanks, 342). William and Mary conceded to the terms laid out in the Bill of Rights, and agreed in part to tentative religious toleration (Wiesner-Hanks, 343). This period was known as the “Glorious Revolution.” Among other things, the Bill of Rights called for freedom of speech during Parliament debates and free election of Parliament members. The Bill also sought to limit the financial and military powers of the monarch. Its adoption by the Protestant William and Mary is further proof of England’s gradual shift toward a modern nation-state. However, enduring conflict between Catholics and Protestants of the era indicates a lack of secularization in government, particularly in England.
Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:English_Bill_of_Rights_of_1689_(middle).jpg) Wiesner-Hanks, Merry. Early Modern Europe: 1450-1789. Cambridge University Press, 2013. Print.