This collection of essays by historians and literary scholars treats English history and culture from the Henrician Reformation to the Glorious Revolution as a single coherent period in which religion is a dominant element in political and cultural life. It seeks to explore the centrality of the religion-politics nexus for this whole period through examining a wide variety of literary and non-literary texts, from plays and poems to devotional treatises, political treatises and histories. It breaks down normal distinctions between Tudor and Stuart, pre- and post-Restoration periods to reveal a coherent (though not all serene and untroubled) post-Reformation culture struggling with major issues of belief, practice and authority.

"The volume offers a promising sampling of larger studies to come from an able team of contributors from three disciplines who have a variety of valuable things to say about the persistence of religion amid the tangle of English politics." Sixteenth Century Journal

"...this volume succeeds brilliantly in showing how ecclesiology cannot be segregated from politics....this collection represents a sure step toward our fuller understanding of the period." Richard Mallette, Journal of English and Germanic Philology

"...each essay shows polish and sophistication" Albion

"Hamilton and Strier's compilation is an important interdisciplinary addition to the fields of Tudor-Stuart history, religious studies, and literary criticism." Cecile Zinberg, Studies in Chirstianity and Culture

"The collection of twelve essays edited by Donna Hamilton and Richard Strier is exemplary. Evenly divided between English and history departments, contributors from both sides of the Atlantic investigate how religion, literature, and politics intertwine." Charles A. Huttar, Religion & Literature

"...each essay shows polish and sophistication..." C. John Sommerville, Albion

"The essays are refreshingly free of trendy jargon." D.G. Paz, Religious Studies Review