The Church of England is Protestantism or Anglican Church and it is opposed to Roman Catholics. Only people who belong to the Church of England can become the King or Queen of England but the Roman Catholics cannot. Similarly the Roman Catholics cannot marry a member of the Royal family.
The 1701 Act of Settlement bars the British Monarch or heirs to the throne from marrying a Catholic and the Act uniquely discriminates only against the Catholics.
Mr.Gorden Brown, the British Prime Minister, of a country whose people are considered conservatives and known for their penchant for age old institutions and customs, has come out with some bold steps in his tenure as the Prime Minister. He may consider abolishing the law of Settlement, that prevents Roman Catholics marrying into Royal Family or becoming king or queen. But there is nothing in the Act which would prevent a monarch or their heirs from marrying a Hindu, Buddhists, Muslim or Jewish person. Hence, the Labour Government headed by Gorden Brown may consider abolishing 307 years old Act of Settlement of 1701, because it is antiquated and discriminates against a section of society.
The British Prime Minister Gorden Brown was also impelled to abolishing the act of Settlement taking into account some factors or incidents that happened among the heirs of British Monarchy:-
i)The eldest grandson of Queen Elizabeth II may have to renounce his place in the line of succession to the throne when he marries his Roman Catholic fiancée in May.
ii)Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips who got engaged to his fiancée Autumn Kelly last August, will have to renounce his place in the line of succession to the throne (he is 11 in the line) if she does not renounce her religion in order for the marriage to go through.
It was Jim Divine, a Scottish catholic MP who raised the issue of the Act of Settlement, in the House of Commons, in the proposed Constitutional reforms. According to him, ‘the Act of Settlement of 1701, is a legalized sectarianism that has no role in the 21 st Century’.
According to the Prime Minister’s Justice Secretary, Mr.Jack Straw, ‘Since the Queen happens to be the head the Anglican Church, it is rather more complicated than may be anticipated, but certainly it is something which is antiquated.’
Another stumbling block for repealing all the provisions of the act is, it could in theory mean, a Catholic could become the head of the Anglican Church and that would create a huge crisis for the Anglican faith.
Britain has to negotiate with other Commonwealth countries before changing the Status Quo.
No doubt, the British Prime Minister Mr.Gorden Brown has embarked upon a bold step of abolishing some antiquated provisions of the Act of Settlement of 1701, that will have far reaching effects in the History of the British.