Victorian Religion: Faith and Life in Britain

by Julie Melnyk

Overview

Religion permeated almost every aspect of Victorian life and culture, from Parliamentary politics to issues of marriage and sexuality, from class relations to literature and the life of the imagination. In order to understand Victorian culture and writings, modern readers need to understand Victorian religion in its public and its private aspects. But much in Victorian religious life can be baffling for modern readers. The sheer diversity of Victorian religious experience is one source of confusion. Also, doctrinal disputes and discoveries in science or textual criticism that loomed so large for Victorian Christians are now hard for most people to appreciate. The Anglican Church, its hierarchy, and its enormous range of ecclesiastical titles open up further opportunities for confusion.

Here, Melnyk offers a lively, thorough introduction to Victorian religious life, including the period between 1828 and 1901. Making sense of the diversity of religious thought and experience in Victorian Britain, she provides readers with a clear understanding of its role in the family and for the individual, the community, and society at large. This entertaining, readable introduction to Victorian religious life and controversies is ideal for anyone interested in Victorian life, literature, and culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313082160
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/30/2008
Series:	Victorian Life and Times Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	667 KB

About the Author

Julie Melnyk is Associate Director of the Honors College at the University of Missouri, Columbia. She has edited two collections of essays: Women's Theology in Nineteenth-Century Britain and, with Nanora Sweet, Felicia Hemans: Reimagining Poetry in the Nineteenth Century.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables     vii
Series Foreword     ix
Acknowledgments     xiii
Chronology     xv
Introduction     1
Church and State: Politics and the Victorian Church of England     13
Variety in Victorian Religious Experience     33
A Clergyman's Life     52
Religion and Daily Life     64
Religion and Reform     86
The Bible and Other Bestsellers     104
Women and Religious Life     123
The Victorian Religious Unsettlement     134
Conclusions     155
The Thirty-Nine Articles     157
The Creeds     168
Notes     173
Glossary     179
Bibliography     195
Index     199

Editorial Reviews

Helping students of literature and history get a grasp on the religious world of England during Victoria's long reign is the stated purpose of this book, one at which it succeeds admirably. Julie Melnyk (University of Missouri) provides a quick history of the century, then cogently summarizes the bliefs and composition of the largest denominations. Melnyk is comprehensive and succinct in her survey of how religion was integral to all of life in Victorian England, especially social reform and literature. . . . Melnyk's description and analyses of the changing conditions and currents of Victorian Christianity make this volume useful for many reasons. It is highly recommended to academic libraries of all kinds.” —Catholic Library World

From the Publisher