Victorian Reformation: The Fight Over Idolatry in the Church of England, 1840-1860

by Dominic Janes

Overview

In early Victorian England there was intense interest in understanding the early Church as an inspiration for contemporary sanctity. This was manifested in a surge in archaeological inquiry and also in the construction of new churches using medieval models. Some Anglicans began to use a much more complicated form of ritual involving vestments, candles, and incense. This "Anglo-Catholic" movement was vehemently opposed by evangelicals and dissenters, who saw this as the vanguard of full-blown "popery." The disputed buildings, objects, and art works were regarded by one side as idolatrous and by the other as sacred and beautiful expressions of devotion. Dominic Janes seeks to understand the fierce passions that were unleashed by the contended practices and artifacts - passions that found expression in litigation, in rowdy demonstrations, and even in physical violence. During this period, Janes observes, the wider culture was preoccupied with the idea of pollution caused by improper sexuality. The Anglo-Catholics had formulated a spiritual ethic that linked goodness and beauty. Their opponents saw this visual worship as dangerously sensual. In effect, this sacred material culture was seen as a sexual fetish. The origins of this understanding, Janes shows, lay in radical circles, often in the context of the production of anti-Catholic pornography which titillated with the contemplation of images of licentious priests, nuns, and monks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195378511
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/08/2009
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dominic Janes is a cultural historian. He has worked at Cambridge, Lancaster, and London universities. He has written God and Gold in Late Antiquity, Romans and Christians, and edited Back to the Future of the Body, and Shopping for Jesus: Faith in Marketing in the USA

Editorial Reviews

"[a] fine study. . . Janes' approach is lively and original. . . Victorian Reformation is a stimulating volume that is likely to become an important point of reference in future discussions of Victorian religion and cultural history'.—Britain and the World

"This engagingly written and handsomely produced volume. . . corruscates with ideas. . . thoughful, thought provoking, informative. . . convincing, and a welcome addition to the literature on Victorian religious controversy."—Journal of British Studies

"interesting and stimulating study"—Contemporary Review

"The ambition of Janes's book is to be applauded. . . Janes's theses are bold and provocative and will be of interest to all specialists in nineteenth-century English Christian history. The case study of 1850s Knightsbridge, where the fight over idolatry resulted in riots, legal actions and political maneuvering, is the highlight of a very interesting book."— Religious Studies Review

"Janes's discussion of the financial aspect is a significant contribution to Victorian religious history. . . I found both the central argument and the individual points compelling."—Carol Engelhardt Herringer, Victorian Studies

"'The thesis is a bracing and provocative one which is especially pioneering in its exploration of religious attitudes to India alongside those to Rome, and in making strong links between the history of religion and the history of sexuality... it valuably enriches our understanding of a complex phenomenon."— English Historical Review

"Dominic Janes's work takes Anglo-Catholicism out of a 'quaint' historical backwater and brilliantly shows how the Victorian Catholic revival and the protestant anxieties over ritual and 'idolatry' relate to important broader material cultural dynamics, then and today."
— Gary Waller, Professor of Literature and Cultural Studies, Purchase College, SUNY

"Janes deserves great credit both for the deft skill with which he blends traditional empirical historiography and newer literary perspectives, and for revealing so many important tracts and pamphlets that bear on the themes he addresses. It is rare to find an author in this field who assembles individual case studies with sustained scholarly rigour while never losing sight of the larger theoretical debates, and also seizing every opportunity for evocative vignettes of Victorian Anglicanism. The writing in this volume, just as in his earlier distinguished writings on the history of material culture in Late Antiquity, is consistently elegant, and at times deliciously witty too."
— T.J. Hochstrasser, Professor of International History, LSE

"Idolatry is a subject of major historical importance - how refreshing to find a lively exploration of its Victorian manifestations in Dominic Janes's innovative volume. His integration of visual and material culture into our understanding of nineteenth-century Anglicanism deserves a warm welcome. This is a gripping story of contested meanings and practices. It concerns a recent Reformation that is of compelling interest in the twenty-first century."
— Ludmilla Jordanova, Professor of Modern History, King's College London

"This book provides a wealth of detail and cultural background that helps make things more comprehensible. Recommended for academic libraries supporting graduate level coursework in English or Church history." —Catholic Library World

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