Nonconformists

In a technical sense, the term refers to English Protestants who do not conform to the discipline, doctrines, or practices of the established Church of England. In this sense the word was first used in the penal acts following the Restoration in 1660 and the Act of Uniformity of 1662 to describe the places of worship (the “conventicles”) of the congregations which separated from the Church of England at that time. Nonconformists are also called “Dissenters,” a word first used to describe the “Dissenting Brethren” at the time of the Westminster Assembly of Divines (1643-1647). Nonconformists of different denominations joined together in the Free Church Federal Council and became known as “Free Churchmen.”

In common usage the term “Nonconformist” describes all Protestants in England who dissent from Anglicanism-Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Unitarians, as well as such independent groups as Quakers, Plymouth Brethren, and the Salvation Army. In Scotland, where the established church is Presbyterian, members of other sects, including Anglicans, are considered Nonconformists.