Church and chapel
Dissatisfaction and variety
During the eighteenth century there had been great dissatisfaction with the established Anglican Church and new religious movements grew up alongside the seventeenth century Baptist Church, such as Methodism. The Congregationalist churches had developed from the Independent churches that seceded from the Church of England at the time of the English Civil War. Collectively, all these movements became known as Dissenting or Nonconformist churches.
These secessions and new sects had arisen because people wanted a simpler, more direct religion and forms of worship without priests or ritual. The congregations, particularly the Methodists and the Baptists, were predominantly lower class and a social distinction was indicated by describing people as either ‘church' (i.e. Anglican) or ‘chapel' (i.e. Nonconformist).
In the countryside, the two main Christian groups or denominations were:
- The Church of England (known also as the C. of E. or the Anglican Church)
- The Methodists (known also as the Wesleyans or the Primitives).
The social impact of the established church
The Anglican Church was the official state church and was divided into a system of parishes, usually, but not always, covering the same area as a village or town. Hardy's parish was Stinsford Parish, and comprised the villages or hamlets of Stinsford, Lower and Upper Bockhampton.
The position of the clergy
Most parish churches had a vicar or rector and, if they were big enough, a curate as an assistant. Usually, these people lived in the vicarage or rectory and would be treated with some deference by the local people. Often they would be responsible for making sure the village school functioned, that local council meetings were conducted, and sometimes even became Justices of the Peace, though that was usually left to the local main landowner. They were always university educated, and sometimes were considered removed from the everyday lives of their parishioners.
Church worship
In the first part of the nineteenth century, the Sunday services would have a band of local musicians to lead worship. Later, most churches copied the big cathedrals and leading city churches by buying an organ and having a choir. In Under the Greenwood Tree, Hardy describes this process of replacement from first-hand experience. In his youth, he was part of his family's music group, which was reckoned the best in the district. The withdrawal of these folk musicians from church music widened the gap between ordinary parishioners and the clergy and church as a whole.
In Tess, Hardy shows most of the country people as being churchgoers. However, he suggests that their beliefs are often a mix of Christianity and paganism. The word ‘pagan' is derived from the Latin word meaning ‘peasant' or ‘rustic,' which is appropriate for Hardy's depiction of rural life. Pagan beliefs usually incorporate ideas of forces in nature itself and Fate.
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.
One of the largest Protestant churches. Stresses the importance of only baptising (usually by immersion) people who are old enough to make a personal profession of faith based on accepting the forgiveness offered by God through Jesus Christ.
A Protestant church which emerged in Britain in the eighteenth century under the leadership of John Wesley and has members worldwide.
Describing a system of Church governance, whereby the individual local church is largely self-governing, in contrast to the Church of England
(1642-51). Series of military conflicts which rose out of religious, political and financial tensions between King Charles I and Parliament, which was increasingly influenced by Puritan sympathies.
Differing in opinion; often used with reference to religious belief or practice.
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.
A person whose role is to carry out religious functions.
A prescribed order of performing religious or other devotional acts.
A religious group sharing a common set of beliefs and organization.
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.
A Protestant church which emerged in Britain in the eighteenth century under the leadership of John Wesley and has members worldwide.
The collective term for priests and ministers of the church (as opposed to the non-ordained laity).
1. A substitute, representative, or proxy.
2. Title given to priest responsible for caring for a parish. In the Middle Ages many rectors (who had the right to the income from a parish church) appointed vicars to care for the parish in their place.
A priest who has charge of a parish. Until the twentieth century rectors had the right to the income from a parish church. In the Middle Ages many rectors appointed vicars (Latin vicarius, substitute) to care for the parish in their place.
1. One who has the care / cure of souls.
2. Name for an assistant to the parish priest.
A person living within a particular parish, especially one that regularly attends the parish church.
1. Doing homage and giving honour and respect, especially to God. Acts of devotion. Human response to the perceived presence of the divine.
2. The part of the Christian liturgy usually consisting of sung material and prayers of thanksgiving.
Generally a large and magnificent place of Christian worship that houses the 'cathedra' (the bishop's chair or throne).
The collective term for priests and ministers of the church (as opposed to the non-ordained laity).
A primitive form of religion involving the worship of nature or deities which represent aspects of nature.
What is destined to happen to someone. In Greek mythology, the powers of Fate were often depicted as three women who decided on each individual's destiny and life-span.
