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The Religion of Protestants: The Church in English Society 1559-1625
The Religion of the Protestants The Church in English Society 1559-1625 The Ford Lectures 1979
312 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 1984
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38 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Collinson
45 books10 followersProfessor Patrick Collinson was a distinguished and much published author in the field of early modern history. A Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge since 1988, he was Regius Professor of History at the University until 1996. He also held a number of academic distinctions, including Fellowship of the British Academy.
Collinson authored his 1957 doctorate on Elizabethan Puritanism under J. E. Neale, and was a lecturer at the University of Khartoum and King's College London. He was professor at the University of Sydney in 1969, then at the University of Kent at Canterbury and the University of Sheffield. His 1967 monograph, The Elizabethan Puritan Movement, had a great impact on historians' understanding of the movement. The work showed Puritanism to be a significant force within the Elizabethan Church instead of merely a radical group of individuals. By the time of his retirement in 1996, he was one of the doyens of English Reformation history. His short summation of the period, The Reformation, was published in 2003.
Collinson's work laid the foundations, in many ways, for what historians of the English Reformation currently term the 'Calvinist Consensus' in the latter decades of the sixteenth and reign of James I/VI. As such, the belief Puritanism was anything but religiously radical in relation to English, and indeed British, culture stands as one of his great achievements as an historian.
Collinson authored his 1957 doctorate on Elizabethan Puritanism under J. E. Neale, and was a lecturer at the University of Khartoum and King's College London. He was professor at the University of Sydney in 1969, then at the University of Kent at Canterbury and the University of Sheffield. His 1967 monograph, The Elizabethan Puritan Movement, had a great impact on historians' understanding of the movement. The work showed Puritanism to be a significant force within the Elizabethan Church instead of merely a radical group of individuals. By the time of his retirement in 1996, he was one of the doyens of English Reformation history. His short summation of the period, The Reformation, was published in 2003.
Collinson's work laid the foundations, in many ways, for what historians of the English Reformation currently term the 'Calvinist Consensus' in the latter decades of the sixteenth and reign of James I/VI. As such, the belief Puritanism was anything but religiously radical in relation to English, and indeed British, culture stands as one of his great achievements as an historian.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 13, 2011
Although published more than thirty years ago, this book is still a definitive work in its field. Written in a lively and often downright conversational tone, wide-ranging yet crammed with delightfully concrete details and anecdotes, The Religion of Protestants offers a wonderful portrait of ecclesiastical life in Elizabethan and Jacobean society.
In the process, Collinson demolishes many of our popular misconceptions about that era--that it was the best of times, or that it was the worst of times. It was neither. This was no golden age of Christendom, when everyone went to church and took the Bible seriously. Indeed, we find all the familiar problems of modern society. Power-hungry and amoral rulers? Check. Corrupt church leaders? Check. Incompetent, uneducated, and/or immoral ministers? Check. Widespread ignorance of Scripture and orthodox theology? Check. A populace that seems by and large apathetic about the faith and inconsistent at best in putting into practice? Check. Absence of children and young people from church altogether? Check. Loose sexual mores, with widespread practice and acceptance of premarital sex? Check.
However, Collinson's point is not to paint a gloomy, cynical picture. Far from it; one of his main burdens in the book is to demonstrate the relatively robust health of the English church in this period. The bitter invectives of the Puritans, and their certainty that theirs was a church rotten almost to the core, are shown to be just as without foundation as the "good ol' days" mirage. The reality? The English Church in this period was a lot like many churches in many periods--a mixed bag, with a large number of inconsistent professors and practitioners, and a small minority of fully dedicated and zealous believers, whose leadership consisted of a few true saints, a few true villains, and a generous helping of well-intentioned but imperfect and usually undereducated clergy, who were sometimes too strict, sometimes too lax, but on the whole, slowly nurtured their parishioners into greater piety and maturity.
The only downside to this book is that it is addressed primarily to other students of the period. Although, as I said, Collinson writes in a lively style that general audiences should easily be able to engage with, he assumes that you know all the basic background facts--the names of the key people and places, in particular. This is a likely to be a bit of an obstacle for most, but not insurmountable.
In the process, Collinson demolishes many of our popular misconceptions about that era--that it was the best of times, or that it was the worst of times. It was neither. This was no golden age of Christendom, when everyone went to church and took the Bible seriously. Indeed, we find all the familiar problems of modern society. Power-hungry and amoral rulers? Check. Corrupt church leaders? Check. Incompetent, uneducated, and/or immoral ministers? Check. Widespread ignorance of Scripture and orthodox theology? Check. A populace that seems by and large apathetic about the faith and inconsistent at best in putting into practice? Check. Absence of children and young people from church altogether? Check. Loose sexual mores, with widespread practice and acceptance of premarital sex? Check.
However, Collinson's point is not to paint a gloomy, cynical picture. Far from it; one of his main burdens in the book is to demonstrate the relatively robust health of the English church in this period. The bitter invectives of the Puritans, and their certainty that theirs was a church rotten almost to the core, are shown to be just as without foundation as the "good ol' days" mirage. The reality? The English Church in this period was a lot like many churches in many periods--a mixed bag, with a large number of inconsistent professors and practitioners, and a small minority of fully dedicated and zealous believers, whose leadership consisted of a few true saints, a few true villains, and a generous helping of well-intentioned but imperfect and usually undereducated clergy, who were sometimes too strict, sometimes too lax, but on the whole, slowly nurtured their parishioners into greater piety and maturity.
The only downside to this book is that it is addressed primarily to other students of the period. Although, as I said, Collinson writes in a lively style that general audiences should easily be able to engage with, he assumes that you know all the basic background facts--the names of the key people and places, in particular. This is a likely to be a bit of an obstacle for most, but not insurmountable.
January 24, 2018
Learned, with a wealth of information and evidence,, but dense: like wading through treacle.
May 28, 2025
While still valuable for some of its insights, Collinson’s emphasis upon the essential unity of the pre-Laudian church neglects to acknowledge the extent to which such “moderate” Calvinist projection itself became a source for conflict during the period, such as Peter Lake and Lori Anne Ferrell have demonstrated.
July 24, 2017
Although a bit dated and dry, Collinson makes some good insights into problems with the historiography of English history in regards to the church and the years leading up to the Civil War
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews