The "Free" or "Nonconformist" Churches 1289. I have heard it said that the Free Churches could not have withstood the onslaughts of Rome had it not been forthe Anglican Church. Never was a statement farther from the truth. The very term "Free Churches" arose from a refusal to submit to Elizabeth's "Act of Uniformity in Religion" by which she tried to make all Englishmen submit to the Anglican Church. Protestants who refused to submit were called "Nonconformists."They would not conform to the Established Church any more than Catholics. They wanted Churches free from Rome, but also free from domination...