Latitudinarians

Latitudinarians (Latin latitudo," breadth"), a school of English theologians who in the 17th century sought to introduce a more liberal spirit into the Anglican Church. One of the chief aims of such men as John Hales and William Chillingworth was the union of all Christians, excepting Roman Catholics, into one communion, and to this end they endeavoured to minimise the importance attached to particular doctrines and ceremonies. In its later phases Latitudinarianism was represented by the "Cambridge Platonists," of whom Henry More was the most prominent, who laid stress on the intellectual element in religion, and sought to bring it into harmony with the teaching of the Platonic philosophy.