any law requiring a person to belong to the established church of a country as a condition for holding public office.
(initial capital letters) the statute (1673) requiring all military officers and public officials to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown, receive the sacraments of the Church of England, and reject the doctrine of transubstantiation: repealed in 1828.
First recorded in 1700–10
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The only test act that science knows is that of the recognition of truth.
From History of Human Society by Blackmar, Frank W. (Frank Wilson)
A motion to relieve the Scottish presbyterians from the obligation of the test act was lost by a large majority, and a motion for the relief of unitarians, which must be noticed later, also failed.
From The Political History of England - Vol. X. The History of England from the Accession of George III to the close of Pitt's first Administration by Poole, Reginald Lane
In other words, it was but a “Test,” which was promulgated and administered on the same lines and principles as the Test Act in England.
From Islam Her Moral And Spiritual Value A Rational And Pyschological Study by Leonard, Arthur Glyn
Many dissenters had evaded the Test Act by partaking of the communion in a church, though they subsequently attended their own chapels.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various
His action in dispensing with the Test Act, in order to enable Roman Catholics to hold office under the crown, was supported by the courts in the test case of Godden v.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various
Yearly bills of indemnity exempted the Nonconformists from the consequences of their infringement of the Test Act.
From History of the English People, Volume VII The Revolution, 1683-1760; Modern England, 1760-1767 by Green, John Richard
The act regulating this matter was known as the Test Act, which remained in force from the days of Charles II. to those of George IV.
From England in the Days of Old by Andrews, William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
