The census asked, whether
on census Sunday, March
30th 1851, if they had
attended church services,
and if they had where?
Statistics based onto
answers to these questions
have been mined for
information ever since.
When the period began the
majority of people attended
church on a
Sunday/holidays and would
describe themselves as
christian.
The Anglican church
dominated the religious
landscape, most leisure
actives were religiously
sponsored, christian
images pervaded public
& private spaces.
When the period
ends in 1914, much
of this was still
true, with the
exception of
regular attendance
at Sunday services.
To the Victorians 2 points
jumped out- 1. Large portions of
the population, particularly
members of the working
classes had not attended
church that Sunday. 2. Those
who went to a service, more
than half of them were outside
the church of England.
To a christian nation
these were surprising
and distressing facts. For
many the census
confirmed their
conviction that
industrialisation was
causing moral decline.
Until recents scholars
had agreed that
modernisation either
caused or
accompanied by a
decline in religion.
Scholars call this
secularisation.
Until recently more
historians thought of
Victorian Britain as a
secularising society.
How this
secuarlisatin many
not have occurred as
straightforwardly as
we have assumed.
If we move away from the
Sunday church attendance
as principal measure of
religiosity, we can question
the secularisation thesis.
There is no demonstrable
link between
modernisation nd
sexualisation, although
statistic suggest some
specific forms of
observance that the clergy
though important were
declining.
Anxieties heightened by
the belief that cities were
immoral spaces, many
feared that cities were rife
with disorder ands. \but if
we look beyond sunday
morning we see religion
everywhere in victorian
Britain.
Religion changed in 2
important ways. 1. state
church relieved of many
of its social and
governmental cutie, 2.
Britain became religiously
pluralistic, though still
predominantly christian.
Religions
British identity relied
heavily on Britain being a
protestant country. Felt
kinship with other
protestant countries. This
status helps explain the
suspicion towards Roman
Catholics.
1820- 2 state churches,
larger Anglican (C of E),
this church emerged
during the reformation,
and had both catholic
and protestant features.
Proud of Via Media.
Within the church there
was a range f theologies
and styles of worship.
one end evangelicalism,
other end the Oxford
movement.
Although Anglican
church tend s to be
classified as the
church of the well off,
and although it lost
most of its power and
social standing over
the 19th.- it remained
strong.
interestedly it was
important int eh lives of
many working class
Britonsm for whom
remained central, even
though they stopped
attending on Sundays.
As late as 1914 70%
of British babes
received Anglican
baptisms.
Oxford Mvoement- led
by John Keble, John
Henry Newman, began
1833 as a protest
against the reduction of
power of the church of
Ireland. Members also
known as tractarians
after a series of tracts
they published.
They believed
Anglicanism was
not form of
protestantism at
all, by a non
Roman form of
Catholicism.
Anglican church
enjoyed many
privileges,but in
Victorian period the
church changed in
many ways.
It reformed itself
through diocesan
structure, organising
parishes into larger
dioceses. It also took
over key bureaucratic
service traditionally
performed by the
church.
Furthermore the
emergence of
various
nonconformist
churches and the
growth of the
Catholic pop.
reduced the C 0f E's
influence.
Contrary to negative
stereotypes the
Anglican church met
the needs if many
parishioners and most
priest and Bishops
were conscientious.
However well publicised abuses
inspired demands for change.
The lavish wealth of the
Archbishops of canterbury and
York, the poetical power of
many bishops and absentee
priests and the fact many
priests were appointed by local
landowners rather than by
church officials angered many.
Lack of churches also a
problem, sine the late 18th.
the pop. of Britain had
grown in new places,
particularly in the north
and cities. By 1820 many
victorians especially the
working classes lived no
where near a church.
From 1841-1870 the
church built/
refurbished thousand
of new churches, with
extensive free seating
to make the working
classes more welcome.
Pressed for change the
church implemented
reform. from 1820s
grassroots revival of of
church dioceses structure.
Transformed church from
isolated parish churches
into a more unified
enterprise.
1871- disestablishment
of the church of Ireland
as the state church,
relieving farmers of
heavy church tithe. Part
of Gladstone's plan to
address the irises
problem.
NonConformists
Churches
Older denominations of
protestantism still flourished-
Quaker and /unitarian faiths, and
the Baptists. the 19th c also saw
the growth of several new
denominations expeciallt
methodism and the Salvation
Army.
In Scotland there
were Presbyterian
dissenters before the
disruption, and
members of the free
church after.
Wales- experience huge
growth in dissent- in
1850 it had 2.5 ties as
many nonconformists
chapels as Anglican.
In society the landed
aristocracy were strongly
associated with the C of E, but
established church was part of
the establishment. It reinforced
social and hierarchical
structures To be a religious non
conformist was more than just
s religious stance, it was
fundamentally oppositional,
anti establishment stance.
Nonconformist argued there was
no necessary connection between
the state and the state church, but
not popular view amongst
Anglican elites. PM Salisbury
found the notion of a non
Anglican voter a baffling one.
Non conformists protested having
too pay church rates, which
funded their local Anglican
churches. They were enraged by
the 1870 Education Act, because it
funded denominational schools.
Largest non conformist sect, was
methodism, founded by John Wesley
in1738.412,00 by 1901. over time it
split into various other sects. It was
for those who did not fell they were
well dressed/educated enough for
Anglican doctrines. it located
authority in congregation rather
than the preacher, and enthusiastic
styles of prayer.
Salvation army today
known for its shops, but
best described as as inner
city form of methodism.
founded by william Booth
in 1865. They started the
army as a domestic
evangelical mission in
poverty stricken east end
of London.
Wore uniforms and
thought of their
tightly structure
organisations as a
christian army.
Most non conformist chapels,
particularly those in poor waking
class areas, had very few upper
class members. However chapels
attracted the middle classes.
Some historian agur this helped
transform Britain, and it did play
a role in the rise of the middle
classes.
Roman Catholicism/ Other
A lot of anti catholic
sentiments- suspicion
that they were not
patriots. Many British
perceived catholics as
lacking in a wide
range of important
secular qualities.
Overall anti Catholic
prejudice was broadly
spread, deeply felt and
frequently expressed. \It was
akin racial prejudice today,
its prescience in vicroian
culture almost cannot be
overstated.
3 types of Catholic- small
group of old english
aristocratic families. Large
majority of post famine irish
immigrants. both groups
very different, different
forms of observation,
caused problems. Native
catholics often embarrassed
by irsih.
In popular mind
Catholicism linked with
the Irish. Irish
immigration dictated
the location of new
churches and irish and
catholic were sometime
used interchangeably.
Catholic gained many civil
rights in the period -1829
emancipation gave them
political rights, and 1850
allowed the pope to reinstate
the bishops and the roman
hierarchy in england and
wales. (sparked anti catholic
demonstrations)
Number of non christians in
Britain was small. Only group of
any significance size was the
Jews.
Jew not as fiercely hated
as the catholics, but
certainly experienced
discrimination. Any
evangelicals argued
Judaism was bereft of
spirituality., some
vicotirans still believed in
blood libels.
Jews enjoyed more political
freedoms then elsewhere in
europe. they cote vote from 1835
and were emaciated in1858. by
late 919th. britain had a small but
fairly prosperous jewish pop.
Russian Jews immigration
affected th anglo jewish
community in the sam ways
irish immigration affected the
catholics. Jewish immigrants
lived indistinctive communities,
a=with styles of observance,
tradiotns and language that set
them apart.
This small assimilated
community challenged b a
wave of immigration in the
decades after 1881, from
over 120,000 jews fleeing
from anti emetic Russia.
Clams that Jack the
Ripper ws jewish, were
a symptom of anti
semitism. in London's
east end.
Atheism
Victorian birtian asls had a
small but high profile group of
non believers. who actively
rejected religion and denied
the existence of God.
Non belief was linked with
left wing politics and was
seen as extremely radical,
and even anti social. E.g
Charles Bradlaugh, who
was active in the reform
league.
Bradlaugh was
elected to
parliament in 1880,
but could not sit
because he refused
to take an oath on
the bible.
Public opinion was divided
between those who saw him
as persecuted and those
who were outraged an
atheist could even be
elected.