Lay People and Religion in the Early Eighteenth Century

This book investigates the part that Anglicanism played in the lives of lay people in England and Wales between 1689 and 1750. It is concerned with what they did rather than what they believed, and explores their attitudes to clergy, religious activities, personal morality and charitable giving. Using diaries, letters, account books, newspapers and popular publications and parish and diocesan records, Dr Jacob demonstrates that Anglicanism held the allegiance of a significant proportion of all people. They took the lead in managing the affairs of the parishes, which were the major focus of communal and social life, and supported the spiritual and moral discipline of the church courts. He shows that early eighteenth-century England and Wales remained a largely traditional society and that Methodism emerged from a strong church, which was central to the lives of most people.

• Illustrates the strong part played by lay people, especially women, in the life of Anglican parishes
• Demonstrates the limited impact of radical theological and political thought and religious dissent
• Supports from the local level J. C. D. Clark's thesis about importance of theology and the Anglican Church in eighteenth-century politics and society