After decades of neglect there has been a resurgence of interest in the history of the Church of England in ‘the long eighteenth century’. This volume of essays brings together the fruits of some of this research. Most of the essays have been written, not by traditional ecclesiastical historians, but by political, social and cultural historians, a fact which reflects the diversity of approaches to the study of the Church of England in the eighteenth century. As a whole, the volume demonstrates that religion and the Church can no longer be regarded as a discrete subject in the history of eighteenth-century England, but are central to a full understanding of its life and thought.

• Major reassessment of eighteenth-century Church of England • Mixes new work from younger scholars with important pieces by senior figures, e.g. John Walsh, doyen of English religious historians • Latest contribution to general overview of eighteenth century, linked to work of Jonathan Clark, Linda Colley etc.