ABSTRACT
Religion was the bane of the Stuarts. Since they first came to power in England in 1603, they could not seem to find a formula that worked. From James I and Charles I, who alienated Puritans, to James II, who alienated Anglicans and thereby lost his throne, religion was an intractable problem. After James II was deposed, he at first resolutely tried to pursue goals that favoured Catholicism. But it became clear the longer he was in exile, that he could not win back a Protestant country by surrounding himself with doctrinaire Catholic advisors and pushing a Catholic agenda. Therefore he set out on a policy of accommodating Protestants and Catholics alike.1 As he made clear in 'His Majestie's Most Gracious Declaration' in 1693, 'We likewise declare, upon our royal word, that we will protect and defend the Church of England, as it is now established by law...We further declare, we will not dispense with, or violate the Test'.2 Thereafter he never varied from this approach: declaration after declaration promised support of the Church of England.
