THE MAYFLOWER:
RELIGIOUS DISSENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE (sketch)

The schizm which led to the dissent from the established Church - itself reforming - has its roots in gradual social change over the centuries. This is not the place to elaborate too much about that social change, but it is my belief that the dissent from the established Christian Church should be viewed in context with that social change. Now, some might see this as a Marxist Revisionist interpretation of history. For my part, it is not. It is merely an observation; one borne out by my Personal Tutor at King's College London, the late 5th Earl Russell - descendent of those great Liberals John Russell (the 1st Earl) and John Stuart Mill.

An example of this social change can be gleaned from The Hundred Year's War. This war witnessed a "sea change", in that for the first time the lowly born longbowman proved his superiority over the man-at-arms. What I am attempting to say here is a growing realisation of the "common man's" importance within the social strata of society.

This gradual social elevation impacted on the established state religion within Europe. There had been, for centuries, a conflict between state (i.e. the king) and the clergy. The Reformation and the subsequent Protestant Faith came about because there was a growing unwillingness to accept the adiaphora - the material spectacle of the established Church. Both the Church and Royal Court was all about spectacle, designed to seduce everyone who witnessed it. But that very hierarchy detached itself from the common everyday experience of common folk. Hence the establishment of a new religion instigated by the likes of Luther and Calvin.

But further dissent was desired by some - a religion totally bereft of any idolatry and a faith altogether more tangible. It was this non-acceptance of these dissenters which led folk from the East Midlands to move to Leiden in The Netherlands. However, there was a desire shared by those dissenters to establish a society which reflected their beliefs without any interference whatsoever. The only way they they felt they could achieve this is to migrate to The Americas , hence The Mayflower's arrival in Plymouth, now Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

Although the settlers were not free of trauma, they were free from the upheavals of 17th Century Europe - The Thirty Year's War and The English Civil War. The 17th Century was viewed by those who witnessed it as the impending Apocalypse - Catholics viewing Protestants as the "devil incarnate" and vice versa.

Martin Wakley (copyright)