1. The Age of Atonement
2. Evangelicalism in Modern Britain
3. Evangelical Faith and Public Zeal
4. Religion in Victorian Britain - Traditions
5. Religion in Victorian Britain - Controversies
6. Religion in Victorian Britain - Sources
7. Religion in Victorian Britain - Interpretations
8. Religion in Victorian Britain - Culture and Empire
9. Religion and the Working Class in Nineteenth - Century Britain
by Boyd Hilton
Originally published in h/b by
Clarendon Press . Oxford 1988
Copy Reviewed paperback publication of 1988
reprinted 1997
ISBN 0-19-820295-4
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The author acknowledges that 'Evangelicalism' is a term difficult to define accurately but yet finds it useful in this study, showing its influence in shaping the politics and
economics of the first half of the nineteenth century. What he does do however,
is narrow the focus of his examination by excluding the Evangelical dissenting
tradition to concentrate on the Evangelicals within the Church of England.
He points to the division within the Evangelical upper and middle class into
moderates and extreme evangelicals and shows how their beliefs influenced the
course of economic and political life. This work is therefore a good example of
elitist history viewed from top/down. However astute and well argued the reader
should bear in mind the rapid growth of nonconformist evangelicalism in the
first half of the nineteenth century and the rising number of middle-class
nonconformist entrepreneurs who were directly influencing the developing
industrial and cultural provincial scene. That said, the work is essential
reading for students of nineteenth century religion, economics and politics as
it has set the agenda for many lines of enquiry over the past decade.
In the paperback edition the author has added a valuable Postscript where he
directly responds to the various criticisms of the original publication. The
reader might be well advised to begin with the seven page Postscript before
embarking on this scholarly and detailed work.
This is not a book for the general reader but rather it is intended for those
who are already familiar with both the leading politicians and thinkers of the
day and the traditional institutions associated with the middle and upper
classes who Hilton implicitly shows as the most influential section in making
decisions and creating the trends of social, political and economic life.
It is during the first half of the century in question that he sees the
influence of moderate Evangelicals in their embrace of God's retributive
providence through suffering. The laissez-faire economics of the time was shown
to be operating through this providential order. Governments should not
interfere with paupers or bankrupts. Their downfall was a way of atoning for
misdeeds and any outside help would be interfering with God's judgement. Hence
these moderate evangelical politicians were very much against a Poor Law which
could only bring into question God's providential law. Free Trade was seen, not
as a means of promoting growth, but a means of assuring a stable society.
The harsh approach of the moderates was qualified somewhat by extreme
Evangelicals who held a paternalistic attitude towards the poor. They saw
charity as a means of their own spiritual growth.
Following his detailed examination of the links between religious thought and
political and economic action up to 1850 the author goes on to show how the
evangelical intellectual and cultural ascendancy of the first half of the
century broke down. The Irish famine of the 1840s resulted in such horrendous
suffering that it was questioned whether such providential suffering was morally
acceptable. There was a general repugnance towards a God who required such
atonement.
There was a decline in Evangelical belief in atonement and in 1856 it is
possible to see this move transferred into economic policy with the introduction
of limited liability whereby speculators would not be held to account for the
failure of their schemes. Their blood was to 'be sprinkled only, and not spilt'.
(P84 Evangelicals, Women and Community in Nineteenth-Century Britain. Open
University Study Guide prepared by John Wolffe 1994 )
The author's coverage of the years after 1850 is less detailed, easier to
read and subsequently lacks the depth of analysis given to the earlier period.
However, he does successfully demonstrate a new understanding of God as father.
The resulting Christianity had moved away from a theology of atonement to
incarnation. There was greater emphasis on Gentle Jesus than a God of vengeance
and damnation. Scientific and religious thought had moved on along with changed
views of individual and social morality.
That this book was published as long ago as 1988 does not deter from its
valuable contribution to 
our ongoing research of the subjects examined as demonstrated by
the publication in 1991 as a new paperback edition and the numerous reprints
since that time.
by David Bebbington
Originally published in 1989 by
Unwin Hyman Ltd
Copy reviewed reprint 1993 by Routledge
ISBN 0415104645
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This scholarly work is a comprehensive history of Evangelicalism which
strikes one as having been written by an author sensitive to the inner workings
of a movement which has powerfully influenced the course of British and American
history of the past two and a half centuries.
Unlike Boyd Hilton's book, The Age of
Atonement, this is not written within an elitist context looking only at
the Evangelicalism of the Anglican Church but rather includes all those
denominations which were called to live a life based on the four concepts which
characterise the Evangelical movement, i.e. Conversionism: Activism: Biblicism:
Crucicentrism. What's more Bebbington encompasses the full time-span from 1730
up to the present day and still manages to retain a sharpness throughout. So not
only is the book comprehensive in its inclusion of all branches of
Evangelicalism but it also presents a coherent argument from its inception
through to the end of the twentieth century. As Bebbington states: 'Conditions
and crises in economic and political life might generate new phases of behaviour
and even new expressions of belief, but rarely did they determine fundamental
trends in Evangelical life. That role was normally reserved for the dominant
ideas of the age' (P272) Crucial cultural ideas came from the age of
Enlightenment in the eighteenth century, Romanticism of the nineteenth and the
Modernism of the twentieth. These ideas worked through diffusion 'the novelties
of one age have become the commonplace of the next' (P273).
The insights which Bebbington gives makes us reconsider the commonplace views
of both Evangelicals and their detractors. The former almost always try to
portray their Christianity as being undistorted from the trends which over the
centuries have affected other branches of Christianity. They usually stress
their returning to the original truths of Christianity as shown in the Bible.
However, Bebbington demonstrates the full extent to which they too have been
shaped by cultural ideas and in turn have given religious expression to those
cultural ideas. Detractors of Evangelicalism have seen the movement as narrow,
dogmatic and unreasonable. Bebbington shows how from the beginning men like
Wesley were men of their time. Wesley in particular is shown as a religious
leader who acted as someone who transmitted the ideas of the Enlightenment from
the intellectual centre down through society. What's more those ideas were
transmitted in religious language. Although the accusation of narrowness can be
seen at particular times and in particular branches of the movement, especially
when there has been a withdrawal from things considered 'worldly', for the most
part Evangelicals have been active in social life and it must be remembered that
over long periods of time the influence of this movement has shaped the language
and 'thought-world' of large numbers of the population.
Although the book is scholarly and extensively footnoted it can be
recommended to those outside academia, particularly contemporary Evangelicals
and those who might criticise due to their own narrow perspective of this
influential movement.
For those historians interested in the influence of Evangelicalism it would
be best to read both Bebbington's book and The Age of
Atonement by Boyd Hilton to gain some idea of how the same subject can
be treated and to get a flavour of the different perspectives which are being
brought to bear on the subject.
Bebbington succeeds in bringing to our attention 'an element of breadth and a
broad range of opinion' which have so often 'been overlooked by the historian' (P276). This book therefore comes highly recommended as
being an essential addition to the library of all students of this subject plus
Evangelicals and their detractors alike.
Editor - John Wolffe
Published in paperback 1995 - SPCK
ISBN 0281047820
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This book will appeal to historians studying evangelicalism in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries and also to modern day believers who wish to
examine the origins and development of their evangelical faith. It also serves
as an antidote for those who attack the evangelical tradition based on their
reading of some nineteenth century novelists such as Fanny Trollope and her son
Anthony, George Elliot and Charles Dickens.
Clive Calver in the 'Afterword' pertinently points out that so often in the
twentieth century the emphasis has been put on the experiential aspect of
religious faith with little emphasis being put on Christianity as a religion
based in history. This book in examining the role which evangelicalism has
played from 1780 to 1980 rights this omission and helps us to understand
Evangelicalism both in context and in its symbiotic relationship with the wider
culture.
Unlike Boyd Hilton's The Age of
Atonement this book is much more accessible to the lay reader. It also
differs in focus examining evangelicalism in the context of eighteenth,
nineteenth and twentieth century culture considered from a much wider
perspective. Hilton bases his analysis on Anglican Evangelicals and their
influence through the structures of political and economic power. Evangelical
Faith and Public Zeal on the other hand includes the Nonconformist tradition
which immediately opens up the range of analysis to include all social classes.
This is an interdisciplinary work drawing on evidence from 'the bottom up'
rather than the elitist focus of Boyd Hilton. This is not to disparage either
work.
The book, edited by John Wolffe, consists of a series of essays written by
scholars sympathetic to the Evangelical tradition. John Wolffe is Lecturer in
Religious Studies at The Open University and the Introduction and presentation
of the essays illustrate the skills which the Open University pride themselves
on of communicating complex concepts and ideas in a way which someone new to the
subject can understand and enjoy.
In Chapter 1 David Hempton, Professor of Modern History at The Queen's
University of Belfast, looks at 'linkages between religious revival and social
change in that formative period,' c 1780-1832.
In Chapter 2 Brian Dickey, Reader in History at The Flinders University of
South Australia, examines how 'active social involvement continued to be
widespread among evangelicals as the movement moved towards its high Victorian
maturity'. This was a time of essential voluntarism .
In Chapter 3 Jane Garnett, Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Wadham
College, Oxford, points to evangelical support of the free market whilst
remaining 'fully alert to its potential dangers'.
In Chapter 4 Brian Stanley, Lecturer in Church History at Trinity College,
Bristol, looks at British overseas involvement and the potential for missionary
activity in the period 1833-1970.
In Chapter 5 Jocelyn Murray, for some years a teacher and pastoral worker in
Kenya with the Church Missionary Society, looks at how evangelicalism originally
gave new opportunities to women but as it became more institutionalised and
respectable the patriarchal aspects of biblical teaching were given greater
emphasis reducing the opportunities for women.
In Chapter 6 Edward Royle, Reader in History at the University of York,
demonstrates how the early distinctive contribution which evangelicals made to
education fractured as church rivalry developed in the second half of the
nineteenth century.
In Chapter 7 Kenneth Brown, Professor of Economic and Social History at The
Queen's University of Belfast, shows 'why the social and political impact of
evangelicals receded in the later part of the nineteenth century'. As
Nonconformity came of age politically and socially 'the distinctiveness of its
evangelicalism diminished'.At the same time there was an increase in the power
and involvement of the state along with decreased influence of the voluntary
initiative.
In Chapter 8 Ian Randall, a Baptist minister and Tutor in Church History at
Spurgeon's College, London considers the 'period around 1900 to be one of
creative change'. A more limited but realistic agenda was set for the twentieth
century.
In Chapter 9, David Bebbington, Reader in History at the University of
Stirling, shows how the 'inter-war generation failed significantly to build on
these foundations'. However from the middle of the twentieth century
'evangelicalism began to regain a sense of wider social relevance'.
Clive Calver, Director General of the Evangelical Alliance, rounds of the
book by showing how the above 'trend has become more pronounced since 1980
stimulated by movements and organisations such as the Shaftesbury Society, Care
Trust, Evangelical Alliance and others'.
This book demonstrates that evangelicalism has never existed in a vacuum but
is based in localities and different class structures. It has always been a
diverse movement rather than an institution thus making it very difficult to pin
down and analyse. However, this book is essential reading for those wishing to
engage realistically with the evangelical tradition. It never pretends that the
issues are simple and easily defined. It prompts readers to engage further with
the subject which continues to present many unexplored avenues for would-be
researchers both at a local level and within the wider culture.
Further works by the above contributors to
Evangelical Faith and Public Zeal
David Bebbington:
Evangelicalism
in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s ( new edn,
Routledge, 1994). Amazon price £20.99 ISBN 0415104645
William
Ewart Gladstone: Faith and Politics in Victorian Britain (Eerdmans,
1993) and other books. Amazon price £14.99 ISBN 0802801528
Kenneth Brown:
A Social History of the Nonconformist Ministry In England and Wales 1800-1939 (Clarendon Press, 1988) and other books. Amazon price £42.50 ISBN 0198227639.
Brian Dickey:
Editor of: The Australian Dictionary of Evangelical
Biography (Evangelical History Association, 1994).
No Charity There: A Short History of Social Welfare in Australia
(Allen and Unwin, 1987) and other books.
David Hempton:
Methodism and Politics in British Society 1750-1850
(Hutchinson, 1984).
(With Myrtle Hill) Evangelical
Protestantism in Ulster Society 1740-1890 (Routledge, 1992).
Amazon
price £65.00 ISBN 0415078237.
Jocelyn Murray:
Proclaim the Good News: A Short History of the CMS (Hodder and Stoughton, 1985).
Edward Royle:
Modern Britain: A Social History 1750-1985 (Edward Arnold, 1987) and numerous publications on popular religion and irreligion. Amazon price £15.99 ISBN 0340579447.
Brian Stanley:
The Bible and the flag (Leicester: Apollos, 1990).
The History of the Baptist Missionary Society 1792-1992 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark 1992). Amazon price £31.49 ISBN 0567096149
John Wolffe:
The Protestant Crusade in Great Britain 1829-1860 (Oxford UP, 1991).
God
and Greater Britain: Religion and National Life in Britain and Ireland,
1843-1945
(Routledge, 1994). Amazon price £65.00 ISBN 0415035708.
VOLUME 1 - TRADITIONS
Edited by: Gerald Parsons
At the: Open University
Publisher: Manchester University Press
- 1988
Paperback - £14.99 ISBN 0-7190-2511-7
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Even though Traditions was
published twelve years ago it remains essential reading for anyone who wishes to
get a basic, yet comprehensive, understanding of religious traditions in
nineteenth century Britain.
This first of four volumes was written for the third level Open University
Course A331 - RELIGION IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN along with Vol. 2
Controversies: Vol. 3 Sources: Vol. 4 Interpretations. It is
advisable to read Traditions first in order to make more sense of the
volumes which follow.
The book consists of the following essays which are written by individual
authors yet take account of what was happening in the various traditions:
Introduction: Victorian Religion, Paradox and Variety - by Gerald Parsons.
| Ch.1. | Reform, Revival and Realignment: The Experience of Anglicanism - by G.P. |
| Ch.2. | From Dissenters to Free Churchmen: The Transition of Victorian Nonconformity - by G.P. |
| Ch.3. | Victorian Britain's Other Establishment: The Transformation of Scottish Presbyterianism - by G.P. |
| Ch.4. | Victorian Roman Catholicism: Emancipation, Expansion and Achievement - by G.P. |
| Ch.5. | Freethought, Secularism, Agnosticism: The Case of Charles Darwin - by James R. Moore. |
| Ch.6. | Emotion and Piety: Revivalism and Ritualism in Victorian Christianity - by G.P. |
| Ch.7. | Anglicized Not Anglican: Jews and Judaism in Victorian Britain - by David Englander. |
| Ch.8. | Freethought, Secularism, Agnosticism: The Case of Charles Darwin - by James R. Moore. |
The essay titles give us some idea of the comprehensive nature of this
book set in a British context rather than purely English. The religiosity of the
century spread outside the various religious traditions hence the inclusion of
the final chapter which demonstrates how irreligion took on many of the
characteristics of the religion which it opposed.
What is striking is the level to which religion was contested both within
each tradition and also between traditions. There was an intensity of militant
aggression about Victorian religion which was not evident in the eighteenth or
twentieth centuries. It was a period of paradox between crisis and confidence,
faith and doubt, revival and decline. Many of the complex religious problems
which our nineteenth century predecessors grappled with remain with us to this
day.
The nineteenth century was a reforming age both in politics and religion. The
problems arising from an Established Anglican Church gave a certain impetus to
those traditions outside that Establishment. However, by the end of the century
virtually all of the political disadvantages of nonconformity had disappeared
and questions of religion had moved to the periphery of both political and
intellectual life. Leaving aside Roman Catholicism, all the other traditions
ended the century by being pluralistic in make-up. Most traditions had both
their conservative and liberal wings. Most traditions had weathered the storms
of biblical criticism and scientific advances. Most traditions had failed to
reach the working classes whilst in the process using up vast resources. Roman
Catholicism which had started out the century in a weak state ended up by being
the tradition which was to challenge Anglicanism in terms of numbers and
influence. They had been much more rigidly conservative not allowing dissenting
voices to be heard and unlike the other traditions had catered for the huge
number of Irish immigrants who moved to Britain in the middle years of the
century following the Irish Potato Famine.
However, the final chapter highlights the advances of intellectuals and
secularists who could no longer deny the 'progress' of scholarship. Charles
Darwin, a moderate man who would have preferred the quiet life of a gentleman,
could not ignore the scientific insights which he had gained on his travels and
works as a naturalist. It took many years before he felt able to publish The
Origins of Species setting out his evolutionary ideas, ideas which would
change the balance of authority between science and religion. He felt that there
should be an orderly transfer of moral authority and spiritual power to an
alliance of progressive-minded professionals in science and religion, amongst
whom scientists would hold the upper-hand.
Unlike many books on religion this volume not only charts the complex
problems experienced by the various institutions in the internal matters of
doctrine, organisation and structure but sets these problems in a wider context
showing how there was an organic interaction with the wider social, political
and intellectual life of the century. Unlike contemporary Britain, religion,
until the end of the nineteenth century, was a major influence
on the cultural context of
the time.
VOLUME 2 - CONTROVERSIES
Edited by: Gerald Parsons
At the: Open University
Publisher:
Manchester University Press - 1988
Paperback - £14.99 ISBN 0-7190-2513-3
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This second volume of four examining
Religion in Victorian Britain looks at the place of religions in the wider
society and culture of which it was part. Readers will need to have a basic
familiarity with the history and development of religion in this period and
would be advised to read it along with the other three volumes which were
originally designed for the third level Open University Course A331 -
RELIGION IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN. Vol. 1 Traditions : Vol. 3 Sources:
Vol 4. Interpretations.
Volume 2 consists of four sections made up of individual essays looking at:-
Important trends of the period are highlighted in the excellent Introduction
and for those who wish only to get an overview of religion in context during the
nineteenth century this excellent Introduction is highly recommended.
By the 1880s limits as to the success of urban missions to the working class
were being recognised. At the beginning of the century it was preached that the
poor could improve their individual state by turning to Christianity and living
a better life. By the end of the period it became clear that environmental and
social factors must also be taken into account.
As the century wore on there was a breakdown of religious concensus within
the middle and upper classes with an emergence of religious pluralism. All
denominations became internally diverse by the end of the period. The
Evangelical tradition who, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, had
concentrated on preaching the Gospel and expounding the fear of God and doctrine
of hell, had by the end of the period, introduced a Father God who made
allowances and a programme of social action. Churches became more 'this
worldly'. Strict Sunday observance became the exception. By the end of the
century there was also a diversification and widespread semi-critical attitude
towards the Bible. Churches began to offer activities beyond those of religious
worship thus blurring the distinction between the religious and secular.
As the century wore on the rights of dissenters were extended and
disabilities steadily removed thus overcoming earlier confrontations between
Establishment and Dissent. The State became more neutral in religious affairs
with rights being extended to Jews, agnostics, disbelievers and atheists. In the
1880s we see new alignments with the Liberal party divided over Irish Home Rule
and the steady rise of the Labour movement.
By the 1880s the intellectual milieu had changed becoming far more
secular. Even religious writing was not restricted to matters of religion only
but commentated on secular news and affairs.
As the title of the Introduction states, the religious
controversies of the Victorian
period can be seen as moving from centre
stage to the periphery.
VOLUME 3 - SOURCES
Edited by: James R. Moore
At the: Open University
Publisher: Manchester University Press - 1988
Paperback - £14.50 - ISBN 0-7190-2944-9
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Anyone interested in the religion of this period should not be without a copy
of this treasure-trove of a book consisting of 545 pages of primary sources,
grouped in easy to follow sections with full description of source and context
at the end of the book for any follow-up research which the reader may wish to
do.
Although this volume is self-standing the reader would benefit from using it
along with the three Study Guides which are also available from Amazon, priced
at £3.95 each. However, the volume is so well edited that readers may choose to
use the book either reading for pleasure and interest or as a reference book
which would prove to be an ongoing valuable source of material.
There are eight main sections which are sub-divided. Each section has a short
introduction as does each sub-division. These in themselves are useful secondary
sources as an overview of the topic and can be used to remind the reader of
important events and writings of that time in a quick and easy manner.
SECTION 1
THE CHURCH AND ITS CREEDS
SECTION 2
GENDER, POLITICS, AND ROME
SECTION 3
NONCONFORMITY AND NEOLOGY
SECTION 4
EVANGELICALISM AND ETHICS
SECTION 5
MISSIONS AND MINISTRY
SECTION 6
CLASS AND UNBELIEF
SECTION 7
THE RELIGION OF SCIENCE
SECTION 8
BEYOND CHRISTENDOM
It is always satisfying for students of history to read the actual words
written and reported in the period being studied. The Open University here
present us with the result of many hours searching out original documents and
bringing them together in a form which will whet the appetite of any student to
go on and discover for themselves more original documents. This book is a 'must'
for anyone interested in religion and culture in the
nineteenth century. Scholar and lay
person alike will find it easy to follow
and easy to read.
VOLUME 4 - INTERPRETATIONS
Edited by: Gerald Parsons
At the: Open University
Publisher: Manchester University Press - 1988
Paperback - £8.99 - ISBN 0-7190-2946-5
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This volume is the shortest of the
series being only 225 pages including the index. This is not the only point
which distinguishes it from the other volumes. The other volumes are written by
a team from the Open University and present the student with a basic yet
comprehensive understanding of the subject. However, learning and education are
not about ammassing knowledge but rather about debate, dialogue and considering
subjects from various perspectives. This particular volume offers just that.
It consists of essays by scholars in specific areas of religious study,
scholars who offer the reader well argued essays for their consideration. As
always the editing of the book is excellent allowing otherwise self-standing
essays to be brought together in a coherent volume. The Introduction states
that: 'Some have been chosen primarily for the way in which they present a bold
or challenging interpretation of a particular theme or issue. Others have been
chosen principally for the way in which they present detailed or local
case-studies which draw together a number of broader issues and themes within
specific contexts.' (P. 1)
SOME ASPECTS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT
SOME VARIETIES OF NONCONFORMITY
SOME DIMENSIONS OF THE CULTURAL CONTEXT
As with all the other volumes in the series Religion in Victorian Britain this comes highly recommended especially as the price is very reasonable at only £8.99.
VOLUME 5 -- CULTURE AND EMPIRE
Edited by: John Wolffe
At the: Open University
Publisher: Manchester University Press - 1997
Paperback - £14.99 - ISBN 0-7190-5184-3
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This volume, edited by John Wolffe,
has been published to bridge the years of scholarship which have taken place
since the publication of the first four volumes in 1988.
This is a self-contained volume of individual essays by scholars in
particular areas of research plus appropriate primary sources in the second half
of the book.
PART 1 - ESSAYS
Introduction
This volume is essential reading for anyone wishing to extend their interest
in nineteenth century religion in Britain. Although written for a degree course
with the Open University the language of the essays is accessible to the lay
reader. The inclusion of primary sources is a valuable addition to the volume. A
major features of the five volumes in the series Religion in Victorian
Britain is the bringing together of important material of both primary and
secondary sources which otherwise would take the researcher, scholar or lay
reader many hours to locate in their search through manuscripts and files. The
series gives the reader a comprehensive collection of current material on
Religion in Victorian Britain plus notes and bibliographies which enable the
reader to pursue their particular interest in the subject.
It is hoped that the team at the Open University will continue to build on
this excellent series of Religion in Victorian Britain.
The Open University have also published for general readers the accompanying
three Study Guides to all five volumes at a price of £3.95 each, again
available from Amazon. All are highly recommended.
Prepared for The Economic History Society
by Hugh McLeod
Department
of Theology, University of Birmingham
Published 1984 in paperback by
MacMillan Press Ltd
Available from Amazon, price £12.99
ISBN 0-333-28115-2
When this small paperback of only 76 pages arrived it seemed that £9.99
was a high price to pay for a slim volume published in 1984. However, in spite
of these concerns, the book remains essential reading for anyone wishing to get
an overview of the subject itself and those wishing to learn of the various and
often conflicting perspectives given by other writers on this theme.
Religion and the working-class in nineteenth century Britain is a topic which
is vigorously debated and the author suggests that there might never be a
consensus. He advises against drawing conclusions from individual cases
encouraging the reader to draw on the widest possible range of evidence. To this
end he directs us to writers who have made valuable contributions to the
scholarly debate and briefly outlines their arguments. Included at the end of
the text is an extensive bibliography which enables the reader to follow up
specific lines of enquiry. It must always be kept in mind that many earlier
writers on the subject have been men with particular political and/or religious
convictions. Christian - non-Christian, radical - conservative, Marxist -
non-Marxist historians will differ in their interpretation and there may never
be agreed answers. Nineteenth century working-class religion is many-sided and
cannot be measured by church or chapel membership. This book does take in the
whole of Britain giving an added geographical dimension.
The author clearly recognises the need to understand what was happening in
the 1790s, the decade of the French Revolution and Tom Paine's Rights of Man
and his Age of Reason. New communities were growing up with
developing industrialisation creating a religious vacuum. Many middle-class
dissenters welcomed the Revolution and by 1791 the reforming movement began to
broaden as the artisans began to organise. However by the end of the 1790s the
conservative forces appeared to have won and a significant majority of the
working class began to reject religion. In the 1790s a radical subculture
developed; men met in pubs to hear lectures often attacking Christianity. At the
same time many more were drawn to hear the itinerant nonconformist preacher
joining chapel and cottage meetings or just attending open air services. There
was, at this time, an intensification of class antagonisms and a decline of
paternalism as the working class migrated to cities and industrial villages.
Groups like the Methodists filled a vacuum and chapels could also serve as
community centres in the newly developing communities. Working class chapels
were characteristic of the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and were
strongest in the industrial village which served as a transitional community
between a mainly Anglican countryside and religiously apathetic cities. However,
the chapels appealed more to artisans than to the poorest sections of the
working-class.
It was the breakaway Primitive Methodists (1812) who had the greatest appeal
for the working classes. Their open-air meetings preached a message of salvation
for each individual but more than that the preachers believed that God spoke
directly to them in dreams and visions and this popular religion of miraculous
healings and special providences wasn't a mile away from the popular culture of
the working classes. No educational qualifications were needed, there was no
minimum age required and many of the early preachers were women. The 'Prims'
were the radicals of Methodism who saw God as being on their side in a struggle
for justice. Codes of behaviour changed, members could feel self-respect in a
world which treated them as rough and uncouth and households were transformed.
On the other hand there was a divisive element as members kept apart in order to
avoid contagion. There was a state of civil war with the ale-house and the
denizens of Satan's strongholds. Even though Primitive Methodism remained the
most working-class for most of the nineteenth century they did move from magic
to moralism and earlier extreme radicalism gave way to monolithic Liberalism.
Those who disagreed could join the Salvation Army established in its present
form in 1877. The author analyses the various interpretations of working-class
membership as it fluctuated throughout the century.
Even though the Established Churches declined in the eighteenth century they
still had a pervasive influence on everyday life and had widespread influence in
secular and political affairs. Those who cut themselves off from the parish
church were a highly visible group. Throughout the nineteenth century there were
sectarian differences, not only between chapel and church but also between Roman
Catholics and Protestants, particularly after the Irish famine in the 1850s
which resulted in Irish immigration. For most immigrants the Catholic parish was
the focal point of their community life. Even if many of the working-class did
not attend Mass they nevertheless remained fiercely loyal as their national
identity was closely related to Catholicism. Particular cities and parts of
cities became strongholds of Catholicism. The development of Ultramontane
worship, free seats, separate schools, hospitals, orphanages and charities all
appealed to the Catholic working-class. The division between Church and Chapel
was less clear-cut particularly the theology, yet the feelings between them
could be bitter. Early in the nineteenth century rapid social change and intense
conflict between established elites and the newly rich was reflected in the
membership of religious denominations. At the end of the eighteenth and early
nineteenth century being a member of a Dissenting Chapel wasn't only a criticism
of the Established Church but also a criticism of the whole social-political
order. Up to the First World War religious issues would be in the forefront of
politics. Education was often a symbol of denominational allegiance. By 1851 the
majority of Sunday scholars enrolled in denominational schools. On leaving
school young people would carry forward the same denominational allegiance in
employment thus fostering tribal loyalties. Dissenters generally saw their
chapels as bastions of freedom, democracy and equal opportunities considering
church people to be snobs. Church people prided themselves on their patriotism
and affinity with the Royal family.
The working class did not always follow the lead of the vicar, minister or
priest although as a general rule nineteenth century clergy voted Tory,
nonconformist ministers and Roman Catholic priests voted Whig, Liberal or
Radical. The question of political allegiance is yet another area of difference
between scholars. E.P. Thompson stresses the reactionary role of Methodism
whilst more recently Gilbert sees Methodism as a popular movement and force for
moderate reform. Both writers make brilliant attempts to co-ordinate a wide
range of evidence but there is still a need for more detailed research.
Unitarians not only had prestigious city-centre chapels which were strongholds
of upper and middle-class Liberalism but they also had a number of working-class
chapels which played a role in the development of working-class radicalism from
the 1790s to 1810. The Bible can support both a reactionary and radical
interpretation and it is not surprising that the language of radicalism both in
an out of the churches is religious in tone. Later in the century a Unitarian
minister frustrated with the conservatism of his wealthy congregation organised
the first Labour Church with four hundred present at the opening in March 1891.
However the experiment was short lived and by that time working-class radicalism
could be expressed through secular channels. In the 1880s and 1890s when
socialism began to catch on it often took a Christian form and many of the early
trade-union and socialist leaders had a background of teenage conversion and lay
preaching. However, E.P. Thompson sees the Independent Labour Party as much a
revolt against organised Christianity as a form of Christian expression. There
are close parallels between the appeal of Christianity and socialism with both
being conscious of poverty, oppression and injustice. It must not be forgotten
that by the end of the century the attractions of Marxism as a complete
alternative view of life could serve as a spiritual home for some. What is clear
is that both the practice and study of religion and politics in the lives of the
working-class is contested territory.
That the working-class were indifferent to institutionalised religion was
clear to Wesley in the eighteenth century and also to Horace Mann who wrote a
report on the 1851 census. The Reformation had been a victory for the word over
ritual and symbol by the literate minority at the expense of the illiterate
masses. The end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth saw both the
middle and working classes shaping their identity. The upper and middle class
congregations were uncomfortable at sharing the same space as the working class.
They distanced themselves from anything appearing rough and vulgar at times
considering the working class to be a health hazard. Their policy became focused
on building separate purpose-built working class churches in the poorer areas of
the city. There were many reasons why the working class did not feel comfortable
in church. They were conspicuous by their clothing, they could not afford pew
rents and at times of hardship they needed all their time and resources to keep
body and soul together. It was always the better off within the working-class
who were drawn to Christianity. This doesn't mean that the poor did not live by
Christian standards but rather they often saw religion as practical rather than
a set of doctrines. Supporting neighbours who had fallen on hard times was more
important than attending church. They also felt that there were many hypocrites
within the churches. By the end of the century even the rich were going less to
church. The churches and chapels in nineteenth century had been centres for
social welfare and outlets for community and leisure activities. At the end of
the century government and local government were taking over much of the social
welfare provision and also there were growing alternatives competing for the
leisure time of the working class. Around 1900 pubs and churches were the most
important social centres, both consisting of a community of like-minded people.
Women would still not have a choice the only alternatives for a social life
being based on family and neighbourhood. Working class men though not only had
the pub but football and other alternative and respectable amusements. As
paternalist, family companies were absorbed into giant combines there was no
longer ties of allegiance between employer and employee. Politically people had
an alternative world-view based on socialism and Darwinism. All the above
factors meant that by the end of the nineteenth century there was a working
class indifference to institutionalised Christianity which heralded the slow and
steady spread of agnosticism in the twentieth century.
Hugh McLeod in examining religion and the working class from the 1790s
through themes from magic to moralism, identity, working-class politics and
towards indifference gives us a real insight into the subject through setting
out impartially the arguments put forward by other scholars in the field. It can
be highly recommended as a text book for students but also to the everyday
reader who wishes to get an overview of the subject and the various and
conflicting theories set out in clear and accessible language.