On Laudianism
Piety, Polemic and Politics During the Personal Rule of Charles I

Establishes the theological roots and political resonances of Laudianism, the dominant political theology of the Personal Rule.

Peter Lake (Author)

9781009306799, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 April 2025

636 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm, 0.9 kg

'On Laudianism is lengthy and highly detailed; it is a study, as Lake puts it, of the 'public transcript' of the Laudian church, i.e., its sermons, published texts, visitation articles, and correspondence … Lake portrays Laudianism as a distinctly theological movement. It was about ideas: the way God makes himself present; the way God saves; the distinction between sacred and profane; the ordering the world. Lake challenges portrayals of Laudianism as held together merely by a fixation with outward forms… the creative yet disruptive movement of Laudianism, in Lake's presentation, was about ideas and theology.' Calvin Lane, The Living Church

Laudianism was both a way of being Christian and a political ideology. This definitive account establishes the theological roots and political resonances of Laudianism, and shows how it was based on the recuperation of the theological principles and ecclesiastical and pietistic ambitions that underpinned it. Peter Lake shows how the Laudians' famous obsession with the beauty of holiness contained a plan for the reinvigoration of both the church and the state. It represented a self-conscious reaction against the long-term evils of puritanism and of the immediate political crisis of the 1620s, caused in turn by the evils of (an often puritan) popularity. The result was a coherent account of the theological, liturgical and political essence of the Church of England. On Laudianism explores how this intensely controversial movement, and the strong reactions it provoked, helped cause the English Civil War, but over the long term provided one of the visions of the national church, one that has been in contention to define 'Anglicanism' ever since.

Introduction: Part I. Laudianism, where it Came From: 1. A Trinitarian and incarnational theology
2. Andrewes' political theology
3. Andrewes' anti-puritanism
4. Puritan politics
5. The tree of repentance and its fruits
6. Absent presences
the role of predestination in Andrewes' divinity
7. The visible church and its ordinances
Part II. Laudianism, what it was: 8. The house of God
9. The house of God and the beauty of holiness
10. The beauty of holiness and ceremonial conformity
11. Church ceremonies, the authority of the church and the authority of scripture
12. Prayer
13. Preaching
14. The sacrament and the altar
15. The sacrament and the social body of the church
16. The altar and visible succession
17. The feasts and festivals of the church, or putting the sabbath in its place
18.Sunday sports and the re/constitution of the Christian community and the social order
19. The sabbath and the Laudian attitude to authority
Part III. Laudianism, what it was n't: 20. Order, puritanism and the state of the English church
21. Puritan 'privacy', or the forms of puritan voluntary religion anatomized
22. A religion of the word and the question of authority
23. Puritanism, popularity and politics
24. Of moderate puritans and popular prelates
25. The puritan threat, the church of England and the Personal Rule as a period of reformation
Part IV. Laudianism and Predestination: 26. Laudianism, puritanism and Arminianism revisited
27. The language of mystery
28. Fatal necessity
29. Predestination, the positive case: of justice and mercy, prescience and predestination
30. Faith, hope and charity
31. Effort without merit
repentance, amendment and the works of penitence
Part V. Laudianism as Coalition, the Constituent Parts: 32. Dis-aggregating, or the pleasures and benefits of splitting
33. Of converts, collaborators and apostates, i, puritans
34. Of converts, collaborators and apostates, ii, Calvinist conformists
35. Of apparatchiks, zealots and coming men
36. The Laudian avant garde, (i) young men in a hurry
Cambridge University in the 1630s
37. The Laudian avant garde, (ii) old men in a hurry
Robert Shelford, James Buck and Edward Kellett
38. Tacking and trimming
negotiating the end of 'the Laudian moment'
39. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]