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Some thoughts on the development of a lay religious consciousness in pre-Civil-War England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2016

Marc L. Schwarz*
Affiliation:
University of New Hampshire

Extract

One of the most significant aspects of the religious literature written in England in the critical half-century before the Long Parliament was the considerable contribution made by lay writers. Whatever belief one chooses, Anglicanism, Puritanism, mysticism, skepticism, rationalism, deism, a lay representative can be found who espoused it. Whatever type of writing one selects, devotional books, spiritual biographies, polemics, ecclesiastical histories, legal studies, a search of the Short Title Catalogue would readily bring to light a layman who produced such works. From the pietist John Norden to the firebrand William Prynne, to the contemplative moderate Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, the age abounds with a rich variety of lay religious opinion.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical History Society 1972

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References

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