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This book offers a new evaluation of the political role of the Church of England in inter-war Britain. It argues that, at a time of crises such as the General Strike of 1926, the Prayer Book controversy of 1929, the Abdication Crisis of 1936 and the rise of Hitler, religion remained central to political thought and debate. Anglican thinkers like Archbishop William Temple offered a theory and rhetoric of Christian community which had a wide appeal as an antidote to class consciousness and Nazism, and that Anglicanism played a central role in the articulation of inter-war ideas of Englishness.
This book investigates how Liberal Anglican thinkers shaped political discourse and the concept of national identity in Britain during the inter-war period. Matthew Grimley, a historian specializing in modern British religious and political thought, utilizes archival records and contemporary theological writings to argue that the Church of England provided a critical framework for navigating social and political crises. By examining the rhetoric of figures like William Temple, the author demonstrates how Christian community theories were deployed to counter class conflict and the rise of totalitarian ideologies.
What You Will Find
Scholars recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of twentieth-century British political thought and the institutional history of the Church of England. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's meticulous use of primary source material to support his historical arguments.
Page Count:
272
Publication Date:
2004-08-19
Publisher:
Clarendon Press
ISBN-10:
0199270899
ISBN-13:
9780199270897
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