Act of Uniformity 1548

The Act of Uniformity 1548, the Act of Uniformity 1549, the Uniformity Act 1548, or the Act of Equality was an act of the Parliament of England, passed on 21 January 1549.

It was the logical successor of the Edwardian Injunctions of 1547 and the Sacrament Act 1547 which had taken piecemeal steps towards the official introduction of Protestant doctrine and practice into England and Wales. It established the 1549 version of the Book of Common Prayer as the sole legal form of worship in England. Before 1549, the churches of England used various different versions of the Latin-language Missal.

Nature of the Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer was far from just an English-language translation of the Latin liturgical books; it was largely a new creation, mainly the work of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, which in its text and its ceremonial directions reflected various reforming doctrinal influences (notably the breviary of Cardinal Quiñonez and the Consultation of Hermann von Wied). The first act (2 & 3 Edw. 6. c. 1) was called An Act for Uniformity of Service and Administration of the Sacraments throughout the Realm. It deemed as follows:

This section covers the following three points. England claimed many territories as its own with the phrase "or other of the king’s dominions". And that there was plenty of time for England's territories to become accustomed to these new laws giving them approximately one year to use the Book of Common Prayer to unify the country behind a single common practice of Faith.

Then follow penalties against those of the clergy that should substitute any other form of service, or shall not use the Book of Common Prayer, or who shall preach or speak against it:

This provided loss of all income, which was forfeited to the Crown. Imprisonment "without bail or mainprize" meant one could not pay one's way out of prison, nor be given freedom until acquittal or the completion of the sentence.

A second offence was dealt with more harshly:

A second offence added a year to the previous six months in prison, loss of livelihood, and any promotions and position would be given to another as if the miscreant had died. A third offence was the harshest, punished by life in prison:

Nothing in this act enforced attendance at public worship, but the provisions of the act apply to every kind of public worship or "open prayer", as it was called, which might take place. The act itself defines "open prayer" as "that prayer which is for others to come unto or near, either in common churches or private chapels or oratories, commonly called the service of the Church". The Act of Uniformity 1549 was the first act of its kind and was used to make religious worship across England and its territories consistent (i.e. uniform) at a time when the different branches of Christianity were pulling people in opposite directions, causing riots and crimes, particularly the Prayer Book Rebellion. The Book of Common Prayer defined a middle ground for Christian faith within England; the Act of Uniformity 1549 mandated that all English subjects move to that middle ground, so that they could put aside their differences.

Preparation of the act
The Act of Uniformity 1548 had been prepared by a committee chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer. When this Bill was debated in the House of Lords in January 1549 it was very controversial. Of the eighteen bishops present at the final vote, ten voted in favour and eight against. Hostility to this act and to the new prayer book led to rioting in some areas of the country, and a major uprising in Cornwall and the South West of England. They were resisted by Catholics on one side and radical reformers such as John Hooper on the other. Yet the act stated:

These words assured that it was not an ex post facto law. Only those already convicted would remain prosecuted.

Later history of the act
This act was superseded in part by the Act of Uniformity 1552 which introduced the more Protestant prayer book of 1552 and imposed penalties for unjustified absence from Sunday worship; repealed by the First Statute of Repeal (1 Mar. Sess. 2. c. 2); and revived in a modified form by Elizabeth in the Act of Uniformity 1558. At the restoration of the monarchy with Charles II the Act of Uniformity 1662 continued the major principles of 1549 in a rather different context and this later act was reaffirmed in 1706 as a prelude to the Act of Union which united England and Scotland under one parliament. However, most of the Act of Uniformity 1662 was repealed as part of the process of the removal of religious discrimination in the 19th century and the revision of statute law in the 20th.

Repeal
The words of commencement, wherever occurring, were repealed by section 1 of, and schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.

The whole act, in so far as it extended to Northern Ireland, was repealed by section 1(1) of, and schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1950.

The whole act, so far as unrepealed, except section 7, was repealed by section 1 of, and Part II of the schedule to, the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969.

The whole act, so far as unrepealed, was repealed by section 6(3) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure 1974.

Section 1
In this section, the words from "that all and singuler person" to "thereof: And" were repealed by section 1 of, and schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.

Section 3
This section, from "it is" to "aforesaide", was repealed by section 1 of, and Part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

In this section, the words from "forfeit to our" to "and shall" were repealed by section 10(2) of and Part III of schedule 3 to, the Criminal Law Act 1967.

Section 4
This section, from "it is" to "aforesaide", was repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

Section 5
This section, from "and be it" to first "aforesaide", was repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

This section was repealed by section 87 of, and Schedule 5 to, the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963.

Section 8
This section, from "and be it" to first "aforesaide", was repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

Section 9
This section, from "be it" to "aforesaide that", was repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

Section 10
This section, from "and be it" to first "aforesaide", was repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

This section was repealed by section 83(3) of, and Part III of Schedule 10 to, the Criminal Justice Act 1948.

Section 11
This section, from "and be it" to first "aforesaide", was repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

This section was repealed by section 10(2) of and part I of schedule 3 to, the Criminal Law Act 1967.

Section 12
This section, from "and be it" to first "aforesaide", was repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

This section was repealed by section 87 of, and schedule 5 to, the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963.

Section 13
In this section, the words "and be it enacted" were repealed by section 1 of, and part I of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

This section was repealed by section 87 of, and schedule 5 to, the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963.