First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This study overcomes the ambiguity and daunting scale of the subject of secularization by using the insights of anthropology and sociology, and by examining an earlier period than usually considered. Concentrating not only on a decline of religious belief, which is the last aspect of secularization, this study shows that a transformation of England's cultural grammar had to precede that loosening of belief, and that this was largely accomplished between 1500 and 1700. Only when definitions of space and time changed and language and technology were transformed (as well as art and play) could a secular world-view be sustained. As aspects of daily life became divorced from religious values and controls, religious culture was supplanted by religious faith, a reasoned, rather than an unquestioned, belief in the supernatural. Sommerville shows that this process was more political and theological than economic or social.

Seventeen distinguished historians of early modern Britain pay tribute to an outstanding scholar and teacher, presenting reviews of major areas of debate.

Offering fuller understandings of both dramatic representations and the complexities of religious culture, this collection reveals the ways in which religion and performance were inextricably linked in early modern England. Its readings extend beyond the interpretation of straightforward religious allusions and suggest new avenues for theorizing the dynamic relationship between religious representations and dramatic ones. By addressing the particular ways in which commercial drama adapted the sensory aspects of religious experience to its own symbolic systems, the volume enacts a methodological shift towards a more nuanced semiotics of theatrical performance. Covering plays by a wide range of dramatists, including Shakespeare, individual essays explore the material conditions of performance, the intricate resonances between dramatic performance and religious ceremonies, and the multiple valences of religious references in early modern plays. Additionally, Religion and Drama in Early Modern England reveals the theater's broad interpretation of post-Reformation Christian practice, as well as its engagement with the religions of Islam, Judaism and paganism.

Women, Religion and Education in Early Modern England is a study of the nature and extent of the education of women in the context of both Protestant and Catholic ideological debates. Examining the role of women both as recipients and agents of religious instruction, the author assesses the nature of power endowed in women through religious education, and the restraints and freedoms this brought.

A thorough sourcebook and accessible student text covering the interplay between religion, politics, society and popular culture in the Tudor and Stuart periods. `An excellent and imaginative collection.' - Diarmaid MacCulloch

Religion and Society in Early Modern England is a thorough sourcebook covering interplay between religion, politics, society, and popular culture in the Tudor and Stuart periods. It covers the crucial topics of the Reformation through narratives, reports, literary works, orthodox and unorthodox religious writing, institutional church documents, and parliamentary proceedings. Helpful introductions put each of the sources in context and make this an accessible student text.

Starting with Elizabeth I and going right through to the Civil War, Margo Todd has selected pieces which represent all the main arguments of the "revisionism" debate, which has become extremely complex. The articles should allow students to see how historians use sources to interpret the past.

The values and institutions of the Christian Church remained massively dominant in early modern English society and culture, but its theology, liturgy and unity were increasingly disputed. The period was overall one of institutional conformity and individual diversity: the centrality of Christian religion was universally acknowledged; yet the nature of religion and of religious observance in England changed dramatically during the Reformation, Renaissance, and Restoration. Further, because English culture was still biblical and English society was still religious, the state involved itself in ecclesiastical matters to an extraordinary extent. Successive political and ecclesiastical administrations were committed to helping each other, but their attempts to mould religious beliefs and customs were effectively attempts to modify English culture. Church and state were complementary, yet because they were ultimately distinct estates, they could work only, at best, uneasily in partnership with each other. Cultural output is thus an ideal lens for examining this period of tension in the church, state and society of England. The case studies contained in this volume examine the intersection of politics, religion and society over the entire early modern period, through distinct examples of cultural texts produced and cultural practices followed.