Latitudinarians

Latitudinarians, or latitude men were initially a group of 17th-century English theologians – clerics and academics – from the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England, which was protestant). In particular, they believed that conforming and adhering to very specific doctrines, liturgical practices and church organizational forms, as did the Puritans was not necessary, and could be harmful: "The sense that one had special instructions from God made individuals less amenable to moderation and compromise, or to reason itself." Thus, the latitudinarians supported a broad-based protestantism; they were later referred to as Broad Church (see also Inclusivism).

Examples of the latitudinarian philosophy underlying the theology were found among the Cambridge Platonists and Sir Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici. Additionally, the term latitudinarian has been applied to ministers of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Scotland who were educated at the Episcopal-sympathizing universities at Aberdeen and St Andrews, and that broadly subscribed to the beliefs of their moderate Anglican English counterparts.

Today, latitudinarianism should not be confused with ecumenical movements, which seek to draw all Christian churches together, rather than seeking to de-emphasize practical doctrine. The term latitudinarian has taken on a more general meaning, indicating a personal philosophy that includes tolerance of other views, particularly, but not necessarily, on religious matters,

In the Roman Catholic Church, latitudinarianism was condemned in the 19th-century document Quanta cura. Pope Pius IX felt that, with its emphasis on religious liberty and the freedom to discard traditional Christian doctrines and dogmas, latitudinarianism threatened to undermine the church. Latitudinarianism within the Catholic Church, which may or may not be hidden in certain ways, is criticized using the epithet Cafeteria Catholic. Many people who espouse Catholicism reject certain orthodox tenets such as the requirement that clergy be male-only and the prohibition of divorce while strict Catholics question how a person can claim to be Roman Catholic while ignoring or denying aspects of Catholic dogma and praxis.

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