The Ranters were not an organised group or sect. The name is used as a generic term for various maverick self-proclaimed messiahs, prophets and preachers who emerged in England from the late 1640s until the mid-1650s as the turmoil of the civil wars subsided.

Who were the Ranters in England?

The Ranters were one of a number of dissenting groups that emerged around the time of the English Commonwealth (1649–1660). They were largely common people and there is plenty of evidence that the movement was widespread throughout England, though they were not organised and had no leader.

What did the Ranters believe in?

7 The Ranters were a loose group of religious libertines who belonged to a millenarian and mystical tradition and who believed that they were sinless creatures in-dwelt by God.