'Religion' and the Religions in the English Enlightenment - Hardcover

Harrison, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 052138530X ISBN 13: 9780521385305

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1990

Synopsis

This study examines the changes which took place in the understanding of 'religion' and 'the religions' during the Enlightenment in England, the period when the decisive break with Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance notions of religion occurred. Dr Harrison's view is that the principles of the English Enlightenment not only made a special contribution to our modern understanding of what religion is, but they pioneered, in addition, the 'scientific', or non-religious approach, to religious phenomena. During this period a crisis of authority in the Church necessitated a rational enquiry into the various forms of Christianity, and in addition, into the claims of all religions. This led to a concept of 'religion' (based on 'natural' theology) which could link together the apparently disparate religious beliefs and practices found in the empirical religions.

About this title

Review:

"Professor Harrison has produced a meticulously documented, systematically organized, and challenging monograph. His use of the printed literature and sources of the period is exemplary. Although a demanding exercise in intellectual history, this book is profoundly significant for scholars concerned with English religious thought." Albion

Book Description:

This book shows how the concept of 'religion' and 'the religions' arose out of controversies in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England. The birth of 'the religions', conceived to be sets of beliefs and practices, enabled the establishment of a new science of religion in which the various 'religions' were studied and impartially compared.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 052138530X
• ISBN 13: 9780521385305
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288