The Nineteenth-Century Church and English Society

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 Drawing Extensively On Unpublished Sources, Particularly Those For Rural Areas, Frances Knight Analyses The Beliefs And Practices Of Lay Anglicans And Of The Clergy Who Ministered To Them.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. 1. Interpreting The Nineteenth-century Church -- 2. Lay Religion -- The Problem Of Identity: Anglican Or Methodist? -- The Construction Of Anglican Piety: The Bible And The Prayer Book -- The Essence Of Anglican Belief: Salvation And The Last Things 3. Church And Community -- Providing Churches -- Parochial Responsibility Redefined: The Poor And The Ratepayer -- Sunday Church-going -- The Rites Of Passage -- 4. Clerical Life -- Ordination: A Trap Baited With Flowers? -- Curates: A Clerical Underclass? -- Incumbents: Winners And Losers In The Livings Lottery? -- Two Clergymen: A Glimpse Into The Interior 5. Relations Remoulded -- Bishops, Patrons And Recalcitrant Clergy -- The Rise Of Middle Management: Archdeacons And Rural Deans -- The Eclipse Of Lay Authority: Churchwardens, Parish Clerks, Sextons And Schoolteachers -- The Layman Redefined -- 6. Conclusion. Frances Knight. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This is the first study to consider the meaning of Anglicanism for ordinary people in nineteenth-century England. It is concerned equally with the beliefs of lay people and parish clergy, examining Anglicanism both as a supernatural belief system and as part of English society. It draws extensively on unpublished sources, particularly those for rural areas. Frances Knight argues that in the period up to 1870 the Church retained its popularity among a sizeable proportion of the people. Contents......Page 9 Abbreviations......Page 14 1 Interpreting the nineteenth-century Church......Page 16 2 Lay religion......Page 36 3 Church and community......Page 76 4 Clerical life......Page 121 5 Relations remoulded......Page 166 6 Conclusion......Page 216 Select bibliography......Page 227 Index......Page 237 During the period from about 1800 to 1870 the Church of England underwent a transformation more rapid, dramatic and enduring than any which it had experienced since the Reformation.