Eighteenth-Century Britain: Religion and Politics, 1714-1815

The church of the eighteenth century was still reeling in the wake of the huge religious upheavals of the two previous centuries. Though this was a comparatively quiet period, this book shows that for the whole period, religion was a major factor in the lives of virtually everybody living in Britain and Ireland. Yates argues that the established churches, Anglican in England, Irelandand Wales, and Presbyterian in Scotland, were an integral part of the British constitution, an arrangement staunchly defended by churchmen and politicians alike.

The book also argues that, although there was a close relationship between church and state in this period, there was also limited recognition of other religions. This led to Britain becoming a diverse religious society much earlier than most other parts of Europe. During the same period competition between different religious groups encouraged ecclesiastical reforms throughout all the different churches in Britain.

Nigel Yates is a Professor of Ecclesiastical History, University of Wales, Lampeter and is also is currently Provincial Archives Advisor to the Church in Wales. A leading historian of the period, he has published widely on Britainand Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He has particular expertise on the history of church buildings and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Church of England's Council for the Care of Churches. As an archivist with a special knowledge of church records, he served as Diocesan Archivist to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of Portsmouthand Rochester. He was also a member of the General Synod of the Church of England's Archives Advisory Committee.


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