Nonconformists, a term originally meaning those Christians who did not conform to the Act of Uniformity in England issued by Queen Elizabeth in requiring all to conform to the form of worship of the Church of England. It has come to refer to all Protestant bodies in England except the Church of England, not only the Congregationalists and Baptists, who were the first nonconformists.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1112. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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