why are roman catholics debarred from british order of succession?

Answer 1

"The 1701 Act of Settlement prohibits any Catholic from becoming King or Queen, or marrying the heir to the throne. "

During that time there was a major conflict over religion in England.
Also, the Monarch is the head of the Church of England. If s/he were Catholic then it would be a conflict of interest and somewhat redundant.

Answer 2

the law was passed during a period of great religious upheaval, when Catholics were barred from a great many things in Great Britain, mostly revolving around gov't. They were afraid the Pope & the Catholic Church would take over and start running the country if the monarch was Catholic, and that Catholics in high office would have divided loyalties: Pope & King/Queen. James II was kicked out by his daughters & Parliament for that reason--he was the last legitimate Catholic monarch of England (we shall skip the Pretenders for now).
A reason they felt so strongly about it is tied up in their sense of nationalism. It is generally acknowledged that when Henry VIII broke with the Church, he gave Englishmen a strong sense of national identity. So the religious conflict of the Reformation, often political, went another step in England, becoming powerfully linked to King & Country; patriotism, if you will, and loyalty to the Crown entailed being a member of the Church of England.
Echoes of that have shown up in American history--Al Smith lost his presidential campaign in the 1920s in part because he was Catholic, and there were serious concerns that the Pope would be running the country when JFK was elected, since good Catholics are expected to listen to the Pope. Less of a concern these days, since American Catholics tend to go their own way.

Answer 3

Possibly, if a Roman Catholic is actually allowed to hold the throne under a law change. But I wonder whether there might be a milder change. I suspect that the law regarding marriage to a Roman Catholic will be dropped, but that the monarch/heir himself or herself may still be required to be "in communion" with the Anglican Church and that the children may still be required to be raised as Anglicans. In the Netherlands, the wife of the Prince of Orange, heir to the throne, is a Roman Catholic, but the Prince is a Protestant, and the children are being raised as Protestants. That's a bit of an irony (a historical irony, too), since there are now more Roman Catholics in the Netherlands than there are Protestants.

Answer 4

It all follows on from HenryVIII's secession from the protection of the Holy Cee. He wanted to divorce his first wife - was not permitted by the Pope, so he declared himself Head of the Church of England and divorced her anyway.

For the next Hundred years or so Catholics were held in low esteem even when the Monarch was Catholic (Mary Tudor, James II). As the position includes the Headship of the Anglican religion, then to have a Catholic on the throne would be a bit too ecumenical!

Current members of the extended Royal family Princess Michael of Kent and The Duchess of Kent, are not permitted to receive any monies for their public duties from the Civil List.

Answer 5

Because the monarch is the nominal head of the Church of England, and Parliament decided (circa 1690) that it had no confidence that a Roman Catholic, or someone whose wife or husband was a Roman Catholic, would fulfil those duties correctly.

At the time the legislation was passed, it was specific, because Roman Catholic was the only case there seemed to be any likelihood of having to guard against. Logically, it ought also to apply to Eastern Orthodox, Jew, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, etcetera. If there was any likelihood of one of those getting into the line of succession, I think the legislation would be broadened to exclude them, too.

Answer 6

Everybody is bebarred except for the members of one family.
What you are referring to is that no member of that family can be a catholic or marry one if they want to succede to the throne.
This dates back to the last invasion of England in 1688 when the Dutchman William of Orange landed at Torbay with his army of Dutch and German soldiers who marched on London and deposed James II with the help of some English traitors.
William was Protestant and James was Catholic so they debarred catholics from the throne to stop the descendants of James making a comeback.

Answer 7

Because too many wars were fought over this in the past. (The mess that happened after Edward VI died; the English Civil War, to name just two).

Answer 8

because that state job still does DISCRIMINATE on matter of religion,race and thanks (religionless') God,it doesn't on sex.

Morality not running with a Modern Society that grants freedom of Cult for every person.

And how comes the Head of State is not separated from the Head of a Religion?
(even if it is among others -not so represented- the majority's but not oldest/traditional as the driuidic,anglosaxon)

Answer 9

because Catholics were so uptight, the British people couldn't take it anymore. at least that's what I heard a comedian say. it sounded good to me.

Answer 10

because a long time ago the pope actually put a hit out on the throne of england.