. Outside the context of English history, the word also defines non-compliance with the status quo, more particularly, but not exclusively, with a state religion. Origins After the English Reformation and establishment of the Church of England, from the 16th to the 19th century those guilty of such Nonconformity, termed "Recusants", were subject to civil penalties and sometimes, especially in the earlier part of that period, to criminal penalties. Catholics formed a large proportion of Recusant… (More on Recusancy)