 Title page | |
| Author | John Jones (published anonymously) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Christian liturgy, English Dissenters |
| Published | 1749 |
| Publisher | A. Millar |
| Publication place | Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Pages | 367 |
Free and Candid Disquisitions[note 1] is a 1749 pamphlet written and compiled by John Jones, a Welsh Church of England clergyman, and published anonymously. The work promoted a set of specific reforms to both the Church of England and its mandated book for liturgical worship, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Through these proposed changes, Jones hoped that the more Protestant independent Dissenters – who had largely broken with the Church of England in 1662 and been legally tolerated since 1689 – could be reintegrated into the church.
Free and Candid Disquisitions followed a failed attempt at a revised Book of Common Prayer in 1689 and other unsuccessful efforts towards reintegrating the independent Protestant Dissenters. Jones's proposals included combining and abbreviating the Sunday liturgies, removing latent Catholic influences from several rites, and providing improved hymns and psalms. He also challenged the requirement that clergy subscribe to the doctrinal statements of the Thirty-nine Articles. The text included an appendix of statements from historical figures and Jones's contemporaries supporting his positions.
The pamphlet's contents were the subject of significant discussion, with several responding texts both lauding and criticizing Jones's work. Despite a positive reception by Thomas Herring, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Jones's proposals were generally not accepted by the Church of England. However, his suggested alterations to the prayer book and advocacy of privately published liturgies were influential upon several Dissenter liturgical texts – including Theophilus Lindsey's liturgy and successive Unitarian prayer books – and the first editions of the American Episcopal Church's prayer book. Until the beginning of the Tractarian movement in the 19th century, Free and Candid Disquisitions remained a major influence on proposed liturgical changes in the Church of England.
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