Visionary Religion and Radicalism in Early Industrial England: From Southcott to Socialism (Oxford Theological Monographs)

The political potential of millenarian religion has long exercised the interests of scholars of western history and religion. The religious vision of an imminent messianic age in modernity was once commonly contrasted with secular movements for revolutionary change such as socialism. Recent shifts in historiography and the study of religion have downplayed such comparisons, and yet early industrial England witnessed significant interactions between millenarianism and traditions of radical popular politics, including the first English socialisms. This book offers a new explanation of such interactions, revealing their basis in rich traditions of popular theology and religious practice, and not the collective disillusion and secular conversions once thought. Through a detailed archive-based study of the popular millenarian movement of Southcottianism - the followers of Joanna Southcott - from 1815 to 1840, this work challenges social and gender views of plebeian religion in the period. Adopting innovative approaches in the history of religion, including a view of theology from the perspective of millenarians themselves, this book further overturns existing assumptions about millenarian attitudes to agency, including those of E.P. Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class . This history of Southcottianism provides a compelling case-study of the political possibilities of visionary religion, revealing how theology framed popular conceptions of human and divine agency in the making of the millennium, and was intimately involved in an early collaboration between the competing Christian and secular visions of transformation which have shaped the modern world. Early Industrial England Witnessed Significant Interactions Between Millenarianism And Traditions Of Radical Popular Politics, Including The First English Socialisms. This Text Provides A Detailed Archive-based Study Of Southcottianism From 1815 To 1840 That Revises Many Previous Assumptions About This Popular Millenarian Movement. Introduction : Southcottians, Radicalism, And Agency -- Pt. 1. Southcottians After Southcott, 1815-1820. A Divided Movement -- Southcottians In Industrial Society -- Post-war Politics -- Pt. 2. Paths To Politics, 1820-1840. Building Jerusalem -- Finding Shiloh -- A Convert To Community -- From Revelation To Radicalism -- The Political Messiah -- Agents Of The Millennium -- Socialism And The Religious Imagination. By Philip Lockley. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [253]-272) And Index. Cover Contents Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations List of Figures Introduction: Southcottians, Radicalism, and Agency PART 1: SOUTHCOTTIANS AFTER SOUTHCOTT, 1815–1820 1. A Divided Movement 2. Southcottians in Industrial Society 3. Post-war Politics PART 2: PATHS TO POLITICS, 1820–1840 4. Building Jerusalem 5. Finding Shiloh 6. A Convert to Community 7. From Revelation to Radicalism 8. The Political Messiah 9. Agents of the Millennium 10. Socialism and the Religious Imagination Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z Early industrial England witnessed significant interactions between millenarianism and traditions of radical popular politics, including the first English socialisms. This book provides a detailed archive-based study of Southcottianism from 1815 to 1840 that revises many previous assumptions about this popular millenarian movement.