The nineteenth-century church and English society
This is the first study to consider the meaning of Anglicanism for ordinary people in nineteenth-century England. Drawing extensively on unpublished sources, particularly those for rural areas, Frances Knight analyses the beliefs and practices of lay Anglicans and of the clergy who ministered to the...
| Summary: | This is the first study to consider the meaning of Anglicanism for ordinary people in nineteenth-century England. Drawing extensively on unpublished sources, particularly those for rural areas, Frances Knight analyses the beliefs and practices of lay Anglicans and of the clergy who ministered to them. Building on arguments that the Church of England was in transition from state church to denomination, she argues that strong continuities with the past nevertheless remained. Through an examination of denominational identity, personal piety, Sunday church-going, and Anglican rites of passage she shows that the Church continued to cater for the beliefs and values of many Christians. Far from becoming a minority sect, the Anglican Church in the mid-Victorian period continued to claim the allegiance of one in four English people. 1. Interpreting the nineteenth-century church -- 2. Lay religion -- The problem of identity: Anglican or Methodist? -- The construction of Anglican piety: the Bible and the Prayer Book -- The essence of Anglican belief: salvation and the last things 3. Church and community -- Providing churches -- Parochial responsibility redefined: the poor and the ratepayer -- Sunday church-going -- The rites of passage -- 4. Clerical life -- Ordination: a trap baited with flowers? -- Curates: a clerical underclass? -- Incumbents: winners and losers in the livings lottery? -- Two clergymen: a glimpse into the interior 5. Relations remoulded -- Bishops, patrons and recalcitrant clergy -- The rise of middle management: archdeacons and rural deans -- The eclipse of lay authority: churchwardens, parish clerks, sextons and schoolteachers -- The layman redefined -- 6. Conclusion |
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| Item Description: | Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015) |
| ISBN: | 0511585608 |
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511585609 |