The English Civil War was partly a religious conflict, pitting Church and State against Parliament. Under the reign of James I, England saw the rise of Protestant dissenters. Groups such as the Barrowists, Puritans, Fifth Monarchists, Quakers and many others called for greater religious reform. They believed that the liturgy of the Church of England was too Catholic for a Protestant church. James VI and I accepted the more moderate Puritans and other dissenters, and he managed to keep his kingdom at peace. However, his son Charles I did not believe that kings should answer to Parliament, but to God. In fact, he ruled for many years without Parliament. He entrusted the management of the Church of England to William Laud, who believed that the Church had already gone through too many reforms. Laud erred when he tried to make religious services more focused on doctrine and sacraments and tried to make free will the official doctrine of the Church. It didn't stop there. He ordered that altars be relocated from the central locations of churches to the eastern ends of churches throughout the country. This essay will discuss Laud's Arminian doctrines and his misjudgment of the religious mood of England, which led to its fall and civil war. Laud's new religious policies for the Church of England. Laud's attempts to make the Church more compliant coincided with King Charles I's personal initiative to govern without parliament. Indeed, Charles embarked on policies that made the English feel threatened. The Venetian ambassador in London wrote that Charles had "changed the principles by which his predecessors reigned...if the path he has taken will lead him to absolute kingship, which is surely the goal he has set for himself" (Young 106). Although many English...... middle of paper...... urges and supports the need for a re-evolution of Laud's career and results. According to Kevin Sharpe, “Laud is too often portrayed from the perspective and propaganda of enemies. His letters and speeches, even more so his sermons and treatises, remain inexplicably neglected” (1983). He goes on to argue that at the trial he denied being an Arminian, it can be argued that Laud was a pro-Arminian. Sharpe argues that Laud truly believed in the Church of England and sought peace and unity in the church. Sharpe points out: “Laud had much in common with them (Puritans). Like the Puritans he looked for an upright and well-educated clergy; like them he was virulent against the papacy, harsh against clerical shortcomings and intolerant secular debauchery" (1983). Sharpe concludes his essay by arguing that Laud's name was obscured because he tried to reverse the Reformation.