Occasional Conformity Act

Great Britain [1711]

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July 1, 2026

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The Occasional Conformity Act of 1711 in Great Britain imposed fines on individuals who, after receiving communion in the Church of England, attended Nonconformist worship services. This act was a response to the practice of "occasional conformity," which allowed Nonconformists to hold public office by temporarily adhering to the Anglican Church. The Toleration Act of 1689 had granted freedom of worship to Protestant Nonconformists but did not remove social and political disabilities, leading to this workaround. The Occasional Conformity Act aimed to prevent Nonconformists from gaining public positions by making such practices financially punitive.1

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United Kingdom
Tories and Jacobites
…directed against Dissenters, including the Occasional Conformity Act (1711), which forbade Dissenters to circumvent the test acts by occasionally taking Anglican communion, and the Schism Act, which prevented them from opening schools (they were barred from Anglican schools and colleges). The Tories also concluded the War of the Spanish Succession.…
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…directed against Dissenters, including the Occasional Conformity Act (1711), which forbade Dissenters to circumvent the test acts by occasionally taking Anglican communion, and the Schism Act, which prevented them from opening schools (they were barred from Anglican schools and colleges). The Tories also concluded the War of the Spanish Succession.…
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United Kingdom
Religious policy
…dissent, the Schism and the Occasional Conformity acts. These concessions ensured that Protestant dissenters would be able to establish their own educational academies and hold public office in the localities, if not in the state.
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…dissent, the Schism and the Occasional Conformity acts. These concessions ensured that Protestant dissenters would be able to establish their own educational academies and hold public office in the localities, if not in the state.
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