Written by an international team of literary scholars and historians, this collaborative volume illuminates the diversity of early modern religious beliefs and practices in Shakespeare's England, and considers how religious culture is imaginatively reanimated in Shakespeare's plays. Fourteen new essays explore the creative ways Shakespeare engaged with the multifaceted dimensions of Protestantism, Catholicism, non-Christian religions including Judaism and Islam, and secular perspectives, considering plays such as Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King John, King Lear, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Winter's Tale. The collection is of great interest to readers of Shakespeare studies, early modern literature, religious studies, and early modern history.

'Full of gems, this collection provides a highly productive juxtaposition of historical and literary scholarship.'

Thomas Fulton Source: Renaissance Quarterly

'Hoping to reach both specialists in the field and a more general audience, David Loewenstein and Michael Witmore have edited a wonderfully varied set of fourteen essays by accomplished literary scholars and historians, many of whom have already published books and articles on Shakespeare and religion.’

Arthur F. Marotti Source: Shakespeare Studies

'The editors’ approach to their topic - their avoidance of polemic and generalization both - issues in all sorts of fascinating gems.'

Peter Holbrook Source: Shakespeare Quarterly