Church and State in England in the mid-eighteenth century: the Newcastle years 1742-1762

摘要

This dissertation is a work of political and social, as well as ecclesiastical, history, a contribution,above all, to the reassessment of the nature and functioning of the English state in the eighteenthcentury. It takes issue with the assumption that the Church of England can be regarded as adiscrete subject in the history of eighteenth-century England. During this period it was still acentral part of the English state; its courts remained important, its parishes had many secularfunctions, it controlled most of the nation's education and organized much of its charity, and,preeminently, it was responsible for teaching men to be 'good' citizens and subjects.It is the contention of this dissertation both that the Church was an integral part of politics inthe eighteenth century, and that the interests of the Church were not wholly subordinated to thoseof a secular state. These themes are developed through the thesis which is divided into fivesections. Part I, the introduction, is itself divided into two Chapters. The first emphasizes thateighteenth-century politics was concerned, above all, with the exercise of power. It is within thecontext of government and administration that the importance of the Church is most apparent. Thesecond chapter provides an account of the physical and spiritual state of the Church. Each of theremaining four sections concentrates on one aspect of church-state relations. Section 2 examinescontemporary ideas about the relationship of church and state, demonstrating the emphasis thatwas placed on their interdependence and the inseparability of secular and spiritual matters.Through an examination of the management of the crown's ecclesiastical patronage section 3explores ministers' perceptions of the Church's role and the extent to which they were able todetermine its character. The next section considers the clergy's perception of the role of theChurch, both as part of the temporal government and as an institution concerned with the spiritualcondition of men, and the ways in which they were able to resolve the apparent contradictions inthis dual role. Finally, the place of the Church in parliamentary and high politics is discussed.This final section explores the tensions and conflicts that did arise between church and state in theyears 1742-62, the extent to which the Church was able to preserve its independence againstsecular encroachments, and the willingness of churchmen and ministers to contemplate reforms toenable the Church to perform its duties, both secular and spiritual more effectively.