Victorian Nonconformity - by David Bebbington (Paperback)

About the Book

A succinct and authoritative introduction to the growth of Protestant nonconformism in Victorian Britain, revealing its impact on the development of nineteenth-century British culture.

Book Synopsis

A succinct introduction to the growth of nonconformism in Victorian Britain, revealing its impact on the development of 19th-century British culture.

The Nonconformists of England and Wales, the Protestants outside the Church of England, were particularly numerous in the Victorian years. These Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians, and others helped shape society and made their mark in politics. This book explains the main characteristics of each denomination and examines the circumstances that enabled them to grow. It evaluates the main academic hypothesis about their role and points to signs of their subsequent decline in the twentieth century. Here is a succinct account of an important dimension of the Christian past in Britain.

Review Quotes

...David Bebbington has succeeded admirably in presenting a concise, throught-provoking, almost comprehensive, balanced, and clear over-view of Victorian Nonconformity, from the 1830s to the first decade of the twentieth century.--Denis Paz "Reviews in Religion and Theology, volume 20, Issue 1, 2013"

...The continuing value and appeal of Victorian Nonconformity will particularly be to undergraduates and taught postgraduates, Bebbington covering a huge amount of ground in limited space and combinig pithy and judicious assessments with telling illustrations, revealing how 'Victorian Nonconformity formed a vibrant Chrstian counter-culture', thereby tempering the movement's historically negative image...--Clive D. Field "Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society, Volume 59 Part 1, February 2013."

As David Bebbington shows in this excellent introduction, thoroughly revised and updated from a text originally published in 1992, Protestant Nonconformity was numerically thriving and culturally significant in Victorian England. ... This judicious and persuasive work, amply illustrated from contemporary sources and modern scholarship, is highly recommended.--Martin Wellings "Theology, September/October 2012"