William Perkins and the Making of a Protestant England

William Perkins and the Making of Protestant England presents a new interpretation of the theology and historical significance of William Perkins (1558-1602), a prominent Cambridge scholar and teacher during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Though often described as a Puritan, Perkins was in fact a prominent and effective apologist for the established church whose contributions to English religious thought had an immense influence on an English Protestant culture that endured well into modern times. The English Reformation is shown to be a part of the European-wide Reformation, and Perkins himself a leading Reformed theologian. In A Reformed Catholike (1597), Perkins distinguished the theology upheld in the English Church from that of the Roman Catholic Church, while at the same time showing the considerable extent to which the two churches shared common concerns. His books dealt extensively with the nature of salvation and the need to follow a moral way of life. Perkins wrote pioneering works on conscience and 'practical divinity'. In The Arte of Prophecying (1607), he provided preachers with a guidebook to the study of the Bible and their oral presentation of its teachings. He dealt boldly and in down-to-earth terms with the need to achieve social justice in an era of severe economic distress. Perkins is shown to have been instrumental to the making of a Protestant England, and to have contributed significantly to the development of the religious culture not only of Britain but also of a broad range of countries on the Continent.

About the Author :
W. B. Patterson, Professor of History (Emeritus) at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, has written widely on British and European history and religion. His publications include King James VI and I and the Reunion of Christendom (Cambridge University Press, 1997), which won the Albert C. Outler Prize in ecumenical church history from the American Society of Church History. He is an active member of the Ecclesiastical History Society of Great Britain and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Review :
"Patterson's impressive scholarship demands attention, particularly his approach to Puritanism and to Perkins's role in it."--Glenn Moots, Anglican and Episcopal History "This is not just a good book: it is a key study for all interested in a robust historical engagement with the shape of Elizabethan orthodoxy and the contours of its theological debates Patterson may not only spur historians to greater care but also inspire an Anglican ressourcement of Perkins as a seminal and expansive divine."--Benjamin Guyer, The Living Church "It can be confidently recommended to nonexperts in the field, while those more familiar with the subject will be won over by Patterson's courteous, even-handed exposition of sixteenth-century controversies and modern academic squabbles...[T]his book more than succeeds in revealing the range of Perkins's writings and thinking against the backdrop of ecclesiastical controversy and politics: anyone working in the field will want to consult it."--Journal of Modern History "An outstanding study...[Patterson's] study is especially welcomed. It is thorough and judicious."--Church History "Patterson's treatment of Perkins is incredibly valuable....Patterson's book fills a void as the first major scholarly treatment of Perkins and his thought as a whole. Further, it offers a revision of the commonly held interpretation of Perkins as a Puritan....It proves accessible, rewarding, and of interest to a variety of non-specialists."--Fides et Humilitas "Patterson's work is well-written and researched, shedding much valuable light on one of the most influential of the early Puritans."--The Banner of Truth "This is a masterly study of the most widely known English theologian of the last years of the reign of Elizabeth I and the reign of James I and VI." --H. Gaston Hall, Cahiers Elisabethains "While essential reading for anyone seriously engaged in studying the Reformation, church history, or Christian theology, this is also a book for those concerned more generally with how human thoughts and aspirations can find refuge within the unsettled nature of any religious settlement. Sixteenth-century historians and literary scholars long have lamented that no sustained or full treatment of Perkins exists; but now, with the publication of Patterson's sensitive book, this is no longer the case -- and Perkins could not have hoped for a more reliable or committed apologist." --The Sewanee Review "Patterson's book is a valuable addition to our understanding of the Protestant evangelization of England in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries."-- J. Sears McGee, Renaissance Quarterly "Patterson's volume is a valuable addition to the literature on this important English churchman ... it yields a rich portrait of a powerful thinker whose death in his mid-forties deprived the English church of one of its leading lights." --Journal of British Studies