Great Expectations Contents
More on Dickens' religious views in his fiction
More on Dickens' religious views in his fiction:
Very few Anglican clergymen appear as important characters in Dickens's fiction; the exception is the unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which is set in Cloisterham, a cathedral city:
- the Rev. Crisparkle in Edwin Drood is a rare example of a wholly positive character who is an Anglican clergyman, and he is especially active and socially conscious
- generally, however, the image of Cloisterham is of a sleepy, reactionary place, cut off from the world.
Dickens had little liking for priests and bishops, religious rites, and thought that complex theological ideas were a barrier to faith:
- there are many examples of Nonconformist clergymen in Dickens's novels, but nearly all of them are depicted as charlatans or hypocrites, who do not live up to the values they preach.
The Anglican church is the 'Established' or state church of England, the result of a break with the Catholic church under Henry VIII and further developments in the reign of Elizabeth I.
The collective term for priests and ministers of the church (as opposed to the non-ordained laity).
Generally a large and magnificent place of Christian worship that houses the 'cathedra' (the bishop's chair or throne).
A person whose role is to carry out religious functions.
In certain Christian denominations leader of the Christian community within a geographical area.
Related to theology, the study of God.
Belief and trust in someone or something.
In the U.K., any Protestant group or church that does not adhere to the teachings of the State Church, the Church of England or, in Scotland, the Church of Scotland.
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