The nineteenth century was one of the most fascinating and volatile periods in Christian history. It was during this time that Christianity evolved into a truly global religion, which led to an ever g
The period known as the fin de siecle (usually taken to mean the years between 1870 and 1914) was a fluid and unsettling epoch of endings and beginnings, as well as of new forms of creativity and anxi
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 Drawing extensively on unpublished sources, particularly those for rural areas, Frances Knight analyses the beliefs and practices of lay Anglicans and of the clergy who ministered to them.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.
The British state between the mid-seventeenth century to the early twentieth century was essentially a Christian state. Christianity permeated society, defining the rites of passage - baptism, first c
