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:	9780275991241
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/30/2008
Series:	Victorian Life and Times
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.10(d)

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
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Introduction
1 Church and State: Politics and the Victorian Church of England
2 Variety in Victorian Religious Experience
3 A Clergymans Life
4 Religion and Daily Life
5 Religion and Reform
6 The Bible and Other Bestsellers
7 Women and Religious Life
8 The Victorian Religious Unsettlement
Conclusions
Appendix 1: The Thirty-nine Articles
Appendix 2: Anglican Creeds
Glossary
Bibliography

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