James was indisputably and openly a Catholic. Your remarks apply to his Dad, Charles I, who was devoutly Anglican.
James converted to Catholicism in 1868, though it wasn’t made public till 1673.
His children were raised Protestant.
When this openly Catholic king came to the throne in 1685, Protestant Englishmen were willing to put up with rule by a Catholic, since James was to spring chicken and would be succeeded by one of his Protestant daughters.
Then James’ second wife had a son, who became heir over his much older sisters. This brought the prospect of a Catholic dynasty, not just a Catholic king. The Glorious Revolution sonn followed.
The GR is very nearly unknown in this country, which is kind of odd. The American Revolution was fought to protect the rights Englishment gained in the GR. Our Bill of Rights is obviously patterned on the English version of 1689.
Why that Papist SOB. He told me nothing! Although it always did sound rather like one of those near-death conversion deals the Jesuits specialized in.
On the whole, though, not being a low-church kind of guy, my prejudices do run in the Stuart direction, rather than toward the broad-beamed Hanoverians. Neither did I ever develop warm feelings for their predecessors, William and Mary, nor those Parliaments, either.
The GR? Well, it was an "R." The "G" part is a little shaky.