Ian Colquhoun Published Edinburgh Author

If ever the metaphor of “a double edged sword” is appropriate, it is extremely appropriate when discussing the role of religion in the trials and tribulations of the deposed male line of the house of Stuart. Religion was the main cause of King James II and VII being ousted by a military coup in 1688, influenced and led by his own son in law, the protestant William of Orange.
James’s Catholicism , his standing army and his leanings towards absolutism had by 1688, three years into his reign, managed to alienate him from most of his natural allies, and the birth of a male heir in 1688 who was duly baptised with Roman rights was the final straw as far as much of the English gentry was concerned. There was a very strong belief that the King should have the same religion as his subjects at the time , and though James had initially inherited a sympathetic parliament and widespread public support in 1685 , this was partly due to the people being willing to put up with his Catholicism due to his age.(Callow, J) Before the birth of his son in 1688, the throne had been due to pass to his protestant daughter Mary but now not only the king, but his dynasty was Catholic, despite only 2% of mainland Britain adhering to the Roman faith.(Duffy, Christopher, 2003)
William of Orange was invited to invade and several high level turncoats in James’s army ensured there would be no battle by defecting to William. A prime example of this is John Churchill, later the duke of Marlborough. James had faced protestant revolt in the shape of his nephew the Duke of Monmouth in 1685. The rebellion had been crushed by James’s powerful army at Sedgemoor, and Trelawney’s regiment had been superbly commanded by Churchill, James’s close friend and a staunch protestant.(Childs, J, 1981) The king’s religion hadn’t been an issue as far as national security went in 1685 , but his pro catholic policies had by 1688 even alienated his friend Churchill, to the point that Churchill defected to William , his religion being more important to him than loyalty to any king, as a letter between the two shows . (i)

Religion had seen the male Stuart line deposed, though it had also been the product of William’s desire to control English foreign policy in his wider war against Catholic France that had expediated the invasion.(Lenihan,Padraig)
The Jacobites, as they quickly became known, quickly found that in exile their Catholicism, and widespread Catholic opposition to a protestant England/Britain would become instrumental in gaining any support they might need to regain power.
James’s Catholicism secured him help from Louis XIV of France for his 1689-91 attempt to hold Ireland, in the shape of 7000 French regulars, 5000 stands of arms and considerable naval support.(lenihan , padraig, 2001) The Catholic Irish also flocked to the banner of their Catholic king and his army soon controlled most of the island. However, they were unable to capture resolute protestant strongholds at Enniskillen and Derry, whose defenders showed no loyalty to a Catholic king, and Derry in particular gave the Williamites a foothold in Ireland that would prove catastrophic for the Jacobites. Religion had ensured James had a huge army, but at the same time it had prevented him from controlling and holding Ireland. James’s army was defeated at the Boyne in 1690 and more substantially at Aughrim in 1691 (Lenihan, padriag, 2001). A rising in Scotland in 1689 led by Viscount Dundee saw the mostly Catholic and Episcopalian clans initially achieve great success at Killiecrankie in the name of their deposed Catholic king , but they were halted by protestant fellow Scots at Dunkeld then routed at Cromdale a year later.(Pollard/Oliver) Again, religion had ensured military support in the form of the highland clans, but at the same time it had also ensured fierce resistance from Scots Presbyterians. Religion also further complicated matters as Pope Innocent XI actually provided financial support to William’s allied army as he feared Catholic France’s imperialism more than the Quasi protestant allies. (Callow, John)
James died in exile in 1701 passing the torch to his Catholic son James Edward , who as a baby had caused much of the bother in 1688. His Catholicism meant that the main Catholic powers of Europe saw him as the rightful British King, which meant potential support from the continent. However, Catholicism alienated the Stuart cause from most of England and some ‘loyal’ Scots ,so anyone who openly supported the Stuarts could be labelled a ‘papist plotter’, indeed, fear of papist plots to restore Catholicism was manipulated cleverly by successive English then British governments in its attempts to subvert Jacobitism.(iv)

English intelligence knew that Scotland favoured the restoration of James Edward upon the death of the childless Queen Anne .(Schama, Simon, 2003) England wouldn’t tolerate a pro French Catholic Stuart on their neighbour’s throne, so they essentially bullied the Scots into accepting full union in 1707, thus eradicating the threat of an independent Scots parliament restoring a Catholic Stuart to the throne. Almost as soon as the treaty was signed, a  French fleet attempted a landing in the Forth to start a Jacobite rebellion in 1708 ,but fog and a rather brilliant action by the ever vigilant royal navy ensured it came to nothing. Catholic France had again tried and failed to interfere in British affairs on behalf of the Catholic Stuarts.(Gibson, J) A pattern was developing.

1715 saw a huge Jacobite rising in Scotland and the north west of England , as much to do with disaffection with the union and disgust with parliament’s choice of new monarch, the non English speaking protestant Hanoverian George I, than with love for the old dynasty.(schama,simon, 2003) Though technically the rightful heir, James Edward was passed over as were dozens of other claimants as the English sought a wholly protestant monarch.
In Scotland the Jacobites under Mar waged an inept campaign culminating in the drawn battle of Sherrifmuir before the rebellion melted away, though their slogan of “King James and no union” implies that this rising was more nationalistic than religiously motivated and it was supported by men of all faiths.(iii)
In contrast, the Earl of Derwenwater’s simultaneous rising in north west England was more religiously motivated as the area was home to many Catholics(ii), ensuring good local support. The two edged sword bears it head once again though as the rest of England baulked at the idea of joining Catholic traitors in rebellion , thus ensuring the rebels could be bottled up then defeated at Preston.

Religion was a predominant factor in the small rising of 1719 as the architect of the planned Spanish invasion , Cardinal Alberoni, was of course a Catholic. However , silly squabbling between Jacobite commanders and swift action by General Wightman commanding the government troops ensured the rising was quickly snuffed out at the small battle of Glenshiel .(Duffy, Christopher)

Religion was partly a factor in Charles Edward Stuart being able to raise an army quickly after landing in 1745 as again, the catholic and Episcopalian clans that joined him became the backbone of his army , but again religion also ensured that they received little or no recruits on their abortive invasion attempt through England, despite Charles attempts to either be seen at both religious services in English towns or to be seen at neither depending on circumstance.(Duffy, Christopher, 2003) . In any case, it wasn’t religion that was the deciding factor in settling the ’45, but the massive wave of indifference the rising was met with, both in Scotland and England , and incompetence at the highest level in the Jacobite army.
By this time French support was not wholly based on religion since the death of Louis XIV , but more focused on causing trouble for Britain/England. Catholic France’s support was, however, vital to any potentially successful Jacobite restoration , though it is obviously doubtful that the English people would have accepted a Stuart ‘papist’ monarch who arrived to claim his throne with an army supplied by England’s enemy, both politically and religiously. The old chestnut of the “papist plot” was manipulated particularly cleverly by the government during this rising , which is a remarkable piece of spin by any standards given that the Stuart’s wanted liberty of conscience and freedom of worship for all.
It wasn’t down to religion that the ’45 came so close to success, it was down to surprise and initiative. The initial Jacobite successes can be likened to that of German 6th army’s panzers in 1940 France in that their initial successes surprised even the Jacobites and, more importantly, no one knew what they were going to do next.
Catholic France tried again to support the ’45 materially by sending money , weapons, 800 men on the Irish brigade and Royal Ecossaise and a whole regiment of Scots/Irish exiled cavalry, Fitz James horse, to Scotland but this was nowhere near enough assistance , especially when only one squadron of Fitz James even got ashore at Peterhead, though these units performed heroically at Culloden.(Duffy, Christopher)

The Fact that the Vatican still recognised the Stuarts as rightful kings of Britain was in fact counter productive to the Jacobite cause as England, always the real target of the Stuarts, had been notoriously anti catholic since the sixteenth century. Catholicism may have ensured support from France and Spain, and helped raise a huge army in the first Jacobite war in Ireland but at the same time the Stuarts’ adherence to Catholicism alienated and distanced them from the majority of people in the kingdom they coveted most, protestant England. The same can be said of Scotland, religion was a factor in so many Episcopalians and Catholics joining the Prince’s army, but it was just as big a factor in so many lowlanders and Presbyterians either joining the Hanoverian army or militia units.
In conclusion, religion was an important factor in support for the exiled house of Stuart, but there adherence to Rome was to do their cause more harm than good, partly due to inherent fears of Catholicism in England and partly due to Catholicism’s link with Britain’s bitter enemies, Spain and France, who supported the Jacobites.
By the time Charles Edward converted to Anglicanism it was too late for the cause, particularly given his younger brother Henry had helped corroborate English propaganda about the Stuarts and ‘popery’ by abandoning his dynastic duties and becoming a cardinal of all things.(Zimmerman, Doron)
Religion wasn’t a factor when the French allowed Charles Edward to accompany their failed invasion of England in 1759 as part of the seven years war. France sorely needed a friendly British monarch having lost its Canadian colonies and suffered crushing defeats to the British in India, so having Charles along would allow them to install what they thought would be  a puppet king, had they been successful. Whether or not England would have accepted a King thrust upon them by their enemy is extremely dubious, considering protestant England would have been invaded by hordes of Catholic Frenchmen, vengeful Catholic/Episcopalian clansmen and hated Irish Catholics in the form of the formidable Irish brigade. To the protestant English this would have seemed like an image from Dante’s Inferno. Religion was indeed a two edged sword for the Stuarts, unfortunately it seems to have cut more deeply into those who wielded it rather than into its intended target.
Ian Colquhoun 2010