ABSTRACT
The legal relations of Church and state did not alter throughout this period save in so far as they were modified by Hardwicke’s Marriage Act. The Church of England was held to be the best in the world. This belief in the need for religion also caused men to support the established Church. But the Church was not thought to exist merely for the sake of the state; rather Church and state were usually looked upon as co-ordinate institutions. The House was quite convinced that any relaxation of the law would be a danger to the Church, and so to the state. The provisions concerning the sacramental test pressed hardly not only upon the Dissenters, but also upon the members of the established Church of Scotland. The Lords threw the bill out, and when it was reintroduced in the following year, it failed to pass the Commons.
