Christianity and Revolutionary Europe, 1750-1830

Christianity and Revolutionary Europe, 1750-1830 provides a comprehensive and accessible summary of the role of the churches during this turbulent period in European history. How did the churches survive the political and intellectual challenges posed by the French Revolution, despite institutional upheaval and the widespread questioning of dogma and tradition? Nigel Aston answers this question by drawing on three decades of research, and argues that pre-Revolutionary Christianity had a vitality and resilience that should not be underestimated. Aston takes the story forward to 1830, dealing with both the immediate aftermath of the Revolution and its longer-term impact and offering comprehensive guidance to the complicated strands of change and continuity. The text is supported by illuminating illustrations, and a glossary of unfamiliar terms gives further help to the student reader. It will be of key interest to all those following courses on religious history and the French Revolution.

ISBN 0521465923   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780521465922 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 627 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Imprint Cambridge University Press   Series editor Beik, William (Emory University), Beik, William (Emory University), Beik, William (Emory University) Format Paperback   Series ISSN 25 Publication date 09 Jan 2003   Series title New Approaches to European History Library of Congress 2002067618   Height (mm) 228 DEWEY 940.2   Width (mm) 152 DEWEY edition DC21   Spine width (mm) 28 Pages 396   Academic level Tertiary education, Professional / Scholarly

		List of illustrations
		Preface
		Date list
		Introduction		1
Pt. 1		Later eighteenth-century religion
1		Church structures and ministry		9
2		Beliefs, society and worship: the expression of Christianity in Europe, c. 1750-1790		49
3		Intellectual challenges and the religious response		93
4		Church and state		134
Pt. 2		Revolution and its aftermath
5		Revolutions and the Churches: the initial impact		175
6		The impact of the Revolution on religious life and practice, c. 1793-1802		211
7		Religion in Napoleonic Europe, 1802-1815		258
8		Religious revival after 1815?		297
		Glossary		334
		Bibliographical suggestions		338
		Index		349

'Dr Aston's excellent study takes the form of a wide-ranging and concise survey of the fortunes of Christianity ... a highly authoritative and accessible analysis which will be of value to political, social and intellectual, as well as to ecclesiastical, historians.' History '... an excellent survey ... Nigel Aston's confident command of his material makes the book accessible for the student and general reader, for whom a useful glossary of technical terms is provided ... This is an outstandingly useful book for students and anyone wanting a broad account of Christianity in Europe c. 1750-1830.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History '... an accessible yet serious synthesis. Nigel Ashton has succeeded brilliantly. His presentation is concise and concentrated without being indigestible. His analyses are clear and trenchant, and backed up by a range of telling examples and data ... a praiseworthy achievement in a book with such a wide range, he draws his material even-handedly from across Europe, from Britain to Russia.' The European Legacy 'This ambitious book offers a comprehensive study ... Nigel Aston's scholarship is meticulous ... The unfussy style of the text is well suited to his task, and his judgements are invariably well-informed.' English Historical Review

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