The Churches: (The Dynamics of Religious Reform in Northern Europe, 1780–1920)

Developments in church-state relationships in north-western Europe between 1780 and 1920 had a substantial impact on reformist ideas, projects and movements within the churches. Conversely, the dynamics of ecclesiastical reform prompted the state itself to react in various ways, through direct intervention or by adapting its policies and/or promulgating laws. To which extent did church and state mutually influence each other in matters concerning ecclesiastical reform? How and why did they do so? These are the central questions posed in The Churches, the second volume in the series ‘Dynamics of Religious Reform'. The volume concentrates on the reforms generated by the churches themselves and on their response to the political and legal reforms initiated by the state. It shows how processes of church reform evolved differently in different countries. The position and role of organised religion in the modern state is a matter of continual debate. This volume offers historical insight into the enduring but sometimes uneasy relationship between church and secular authority.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction Joris van Eijnatten & Paula Yates Bibliography The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland Internal Church Reform 1780-1850. Establishment under Fire Nigel Yates † The Oxford Movement and the Legacy of Anglican Evangelicalism Peter Nockles Internal Church Reform 1850-1920. An Age of Innovation in Ecclesiastical Reform Frances Knight Bibliography The Low Countries Church Reform and Modernity in Belgium Jan Art, Jan De Maeyer, Ward De Pril & Leo Kenis Contested Unity. Church, Nation and Reform in the Netherlands Joris van Eijnatten Bibliography Germany Internal Church Reform in Catholic Germany Claus Arnold The Protestant Churches in Germany and Ecclesiastical Reform Klaus Fitschen Bibliography The Nordic Countries Church, State and Reform in Denmark Jes Fabricius Mà¸ller Self-Reform and Swedish Christianity Erik Sidenvall The Limits of Ecclesiastical Reform in Norway à˜yvind Norderval, Dag Thorkildsen & Hallgeir Elstad Bibliography Index Map of Northern Europe c.1870 Authors Colophon

About the Author :
Joris Van Eijnatten is Chair for Cultural History at Utrecht University. Paula Yates is Lecturer in Modern Church History at the University of Wales, Trinity/St. David.

Review :
Both of these volumes represent a major and unprecedented exercise in the comparative history of church reform during the nineteenth century and both employ the talents of a distinguished and international body of historians. Though impressive in scope, these volumes are nevertheless accessible, with each chapter being followed by a useful bibliography. While their balance and geographical coverage may be open to question, these volumes represent the first contributions to a series which already shows considerable promise and which will no doubt serve as a major resource for the study of European religious life in the nineteenth century. Michael Snape, University of Birmingham, UK, European History Quarterly 2013 43: 390 Dubbelrecensie 'The dynamics of religious reform' Keith Robbins ed., Political and Legal Perspectives en Joris van Eijnatten en Paula Yates ed., The Churches Wel maken deze twee bundels duidelijk dat met een verbreding van de geschiedschrijving over religie veel winst te behalen valt. In een dergelijke verbreding slagen de bundels ten eerste door de geschiedenis van religieuze gemeenschappen niet tot de geschiedenis van kerken te reduceren. Ten tweede toont de eerste bundel ook aan dat een expliciete verbinding van religie en macht meer inzicht kan bieden in de manier waarop de plaats van religie in de moderne samenleving is veranderd. Peter van Dam, Tijdschrift voor Nieuwste Geschiedenis, 2012, nr 4 Download het volledige artikel >>> Both volumes present valuable coverage of a range of country cases which few individual readers, if any, can be fully conversant with. The particularity of each is remarkable despite some affinities to be found among the contiguous countries of Great Britain and Ireland, the Low Countries, and the Nordic group respectively. The main essays provide useful works of reference made all the more useful for those who would want to delve further into the matters covered by the addition of bibliographies of works in the relevant languages as well as in English. JOHN T.S. MADELEY, London School of Economic and Political Science, Politics, Religion and Ideology The present volume focuses on 'internal church reform', defined as 'the pursuit of reform within the church, by the church and for the church'. The main themes are outlined in an introduction by Joris van Eijnatten and Paula Yates. There is then a series of country-by-country chapters, each written by a scholar from the country in question. [...] Readers might wish for a concluding chapter with systematic comparisons. But the many excellent contributions will give them the material to make their own comparisons. English Historical Review 2013 128: 176-178, HUGH McLEOD, University of Birmingham Both of these volumes represent a major and unprecedented exercise in the comparative history of church reform during the nineteenth century and both employ the talents of a distinguished and international body of historians. Though impressive in scope, these volumes are nevertheless accessible, with each chapter being followed by a useful bibliography. While their balance and geographical coverage may be open to question, these volumes represent the first contributions to a series which already shows considerable promise and which will no doubt serve as a major resource for the study of European religious life in the nineteenth century. Michael Snape, University of Birmingham, UK, European History Quarterly 2013 43: 390 The present volume focuses on 'internal church reform', defined as 'the pursuit of reform within the church, by the church and for the church'. The main themes are outlined in an introduction by Joris van Eijnatten and Paula Yates. There is then a series of country-by-country chapters, each written by a scholar from the country in question. [...] Readers might wish for a concluding chapter with systematic comparisons. But the many excellent contributions will give them the material to make their own comparisons. English Historical Review 2013 128: 176-178, HUGH McLEOD, University of Birmingham