4 Religious practice and the social worlds of eighteenth-century children, 1688 to 1800

Abstract

Despite the revision of the gloomy historiography of the eighteenth century Church of England, little attention has been paid to the religious experiences and rites of passage of the young, especially in cross-denominational perspective. Indeed, the historiography of childhood has frequently represented the eighteenth century as a period of increasing secularisation. Drawing on personal memoirs from members of different religious denominations and social strata , this chapter will focus on the ways children and young people experienced religious practice and co-constructed meaning about religion, in the contexts of personal relationships and worshipping communities. While recognising the methodological issues of using autobiographies and conversion narratives as sources about children’s experiences, these do nevertheless yield significant insights into patterns of pedagogy, the acquisition of belief, and the conduct of rites of passage across denominations. Formerly neglected groups such as High Church Anglicans and evangelical Congregationalists will be included. This chapter draws on the concept of ‘social worlds’ of children to explore how they could play an active part in co-creating religious understanding through interaction with others. Furthermore, it shows how the young might affect their respective worshipping communities collectively through practices such as catechising and singing, as well as unorthodox behaviour.