The relation of the Church to the State and that of science to religion were at the core of the bitter religious controversies raging in Victorian England. The purpose of this book is to present as many as possible of the basic texts (and in particular those that are comparatively inaccessible) necessary to their understanding. The volume opens with William Wilberforce's eloquent appeal for Evangelical religion (1797), followed by two selections from the writings of the great precursor of the Oxford Movement, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. From Newman's Tracts for the Times, Mr. Cockshut has chosen two 1833 tracts--No. 1, which distinguishes between the constitutional position of the Church on the one hand and its essential spiritual authority on the other; and No. XI, in which Newman argues that the plain sense of the Bible points to the authority of the Church--and sections from the famous Tract XC (1841), Newman's attempt to reconcile the Thirty-Nine Articles with Roman doctrines. The position of the Broad Church school, which was more concerned with the moral and educational influence of Christianity on the nation as a whole than with the drama of individual salvation, is suggested in two sermons by Thomas Arnold. Subsequent groups of selections deal with three "full-dress Victorian controversies." In 1847, Lord John Russell's nomination of Dr. Hampden as bishop of Hereford was challenged on the ground that the Church was entitled to be consulted before it had bishops imposed on it by the Crown, and raised the question: Was the Church of England a part of Christ's church or was it a department of State? Fifteen years later the Colenso case--the trial for heresy of the bishop of Natal--raised an even more intractable problem: What was the relation of Church and State overseas? In the meanwhile the publication of Essays and Reviews (1860) and the prosecution for heresy of two of the contributors saw a lay court deciding doctrinal questions. In the concluding selections, the impact of Darwin's Origins of Species on contemporaneous religious thought is reflected in A. P. Stanley's sermon at the funeral of the geologist Sir Charles Lyell (whose work anticipated in part Darwin's Descent of Man) and in Frederick Temple's 1884 lecture "The Relations between Religion and Science." A general introduction by the editor puts the documents in context and each selection is preceded by a brief discussion.

In her novels and short stories, May Laffan Hartley (1849?1916) depicts the religious and political controversies of late nineteenth-century Ireland. Eire's own Helena Kelleher Kahn reintroduces us to Laffan's vivid, witty fiction, rich in political and social commentary. Laffan did not offer clear-cut approval to one side or the other of the social and religious divide but weighed both and often found them wanting. She adds a missing dimension to the Irish world of Wilde, Shaw, and Joyce. A woman of the age subtly embroiders the acute challenges and divisions of middle-class Ireland. As Kahn says, ?she chose to write about the alcoholic ex-student, the impecunious solicitor, the farmer or merchant turned politician, and their often resentful wives and children. On the whole her world view was pessimistic. Rural Ireland was a beautiful intellectual desert. Dublin was a place to leave, not to live in.' This account of her life and work will be of interest to students of Anglo-Irish literature and history, as well as women's studies. On the ELT Press website we will simultaneously publish an e-book version of Laffan's novel, Hogan MP, available free of charge.

An ambitious and timely look at the role of religion in New York State's early public schools.

This title was first published in 2001. 'An age of faith or an age of doubt?'- the question has dominated study of Christianity in the Victorian era. Reinventing Christianity offers a fresh analysis of the vitality and variety of Christianity in Britain and America in the Victorian era. Part One presents an overview of some of the main varieties of Christianity in the west ranging from the conservative - Protestant evangelicalism and 'fortress' Catholicism - to the radical - Theosophy, Swedenborgianism and Transcendentalism; Part Two reviews negotiations between Christianity and the wider culture. The conclusion reflects on general trends in the period, showing how many of these prefigured later developments in religion. This book highlights the creativity and diversity of 19th century Christianity, showing how developments normally associated with the late 20th century - such as the reassertion of tradition and the rise of feminist theology and alternative spirituality - were already in train a century before.

This Handbook considers Christian thought in the long nineteenth century (from the French Revolution to the First World War), encompassing not only doctrine and theology, but also Christianity's mutual influence on literature and the arts, political and economic thought, and the natural and social sciences.

Changing social and cultural strategies pursued by Protestant and Catholic religious institutions have shaped the social order in Quebec and English Canada. Through a sustained comparison of Protestantism and Catholicism, this volume explores the transition from pre-industrial to industrial society and challenges conventional chronologies of religious change.

How American conflicts about religion have always symbolized our foundational political values When Americans fight about “religion,” we are also fighting about our conflicting identities, interests, and commitments. Religion-talk has been a ready vehicle for these conflicts because it is built on enduring contradictions within our core political values. The Constitution treats religion as something to be confined behind a wall, but in public communications, the Framers treated religion as the foundation of the American republic. Ever since, Americans have translated disagreements on many other issues into an endless debate about the role of religion in our public life. Built around a set of compelling narratives—George Washington’s battle with Quaker pacifists; the fight of Mormons and Catholics for equality with Protestants; Teddy Roosevelt’s concept of land versus the Lakota’s concept; the creation-evolution controversy; and the struggle over sexuality—this book shows how religion, throughout American history, has symbolized, but never resolved, our deepest political questions.

This book opens the doors to a social and cultural sphere beyond the limited world of the English-speaking elite and provides the basis for an understanding of religious controversy and internal reform. It explores the dynamics of religious interaction and conflict that points toward later developments of communalism and religious separatism still plaguing the subcontinent. Religious Controversy in British India reveals a world expressed in South Asian dialects that has been closed to many scholars and students of the subcontinent. During the nineteenth century polemical religious literature and those who wrote it mobilized groups and led them back to the "fundamentals." Sacred texts supporting movements were translated and made available in inexpensive editions. Even texts from the well established oral tradition were put into print. This process was often initiated in response to Christian missionary activity, a response that ultimately expanded to include other religions. In this book, scholars examine the writings of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs responsible for significant changes within different communities and for a heightened sense of boundary-defining identity.