Church, State, and Nation: The Journals of Herbert Hensley Henson, 1900-1939.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Hensley Henson (1863-1947), Bishop of Durham, 1920-39, was a famously trenchant public moralist, and his unpublished journals are masterpieces of commentary and opinion - indeed, one of the greatest of English diaries. Research on Henson and his journals will make a large contribution to the political, intellectual, and ecclesiastical history of Britain during the early 20th century. For the most part, these historical sub-disciplines exist in relative isolation from one other, hindering deeper understanding of important elements in modern Britain. Henson's journals offer a unique means to overcome these limitations. He was a leading controversialist not only on religious and ecclesiastical issues - he was the first bishop to advocate disestablishment of the Church of England - but across wide areas of social, political, industrial, moral and even medical debate. He fulfilled this role as a prolific preacher, speaker in the House of Lords, author, and contributor to newspapers. So far no systematic use has been made of the journals, because of the neglect of crucial modern intersections between politics, thought, and organised religion. The journals reveal the fluid boundaries between political and religious institutions, and the dependence of these institutions on a common set of ideas about the state, a national church, the free churches, nationhood, and community.Following a pilot project during 2014-15 funded by Durham University, the research will create a digital scholarly edition of two-thirds of the journals, the 63 volumes from 1900 to 1939 when Henson was most prominent as a public moralist and as a commentator on the great events and great figures of these turbulent years. The journals provide exceptional insight not just into all aspects of the Church (institutional, episcopal and pastoral), but also national and regional politics; social issues concerning the metropolitan elite at one extreme and the Durham coalfields at another; social and religious thought and literary life; and international affairs. The research potential of the journals will be demonstrated in scholarly articles that cut across these concerns. The digital edition will enable Henson's literary gifts and unique insights into his age to be enjoyed by a wide readership.The questions that will guide the research include the following. How far has secularisation in British public life been affected by shifts of power between institutions, and by changes in public attitudes towards religion? What were the implications for Church-State relations of the growth of democracy during the early 20th century? Which voices, lay and clerical, were most prominent in the debates about the place of religion in national life? How effectively did leading figures within the Church engage with public, political, and intellectual opinion on issues of public policy? What authority - cultural, moral, spiritual, and political - did the Church command, both locally and nationally? What contribution did the Church make to shaping English and British national identity, both in partnership with and in opposition to other churches in the UK? To what extent were alliances and conflicts within the Church shaped by wider networks of influence in public life?The research has many benefits for scholarship in British history, political thought, life-writing, religious studies, and literary history. It will generate new perspectives on the secularisation of British society during the 20th century, and the effectiveness of the Church in countering it. The subtleties of Henson's individualism and Unionism will enhance understanding of Conservative political thought. The journals will bring new insights on the modern relationship between clergyman and parish, dean and chapter, bishop and diocese, and changing styles of preaching. They also contain a wealth of biblical and literary discussion of value to literary historians. The edition will prove of enduring importance.