Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Antecedents; 2. 'Religion', revelation, and the light of nature: Protestants and Platonists; 3. The religious instinct and priestly corruptions: Lord Herbert and deism; 4. Sacred history and religious diversity; 5. From sacred history to natural history; Epilogue; Notes; References.

Promotional Information

This book shows how the concept of 'religion' and 'the religions' arose out of controversies in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England.

Reviews

"Professor Harrison has produced a meticulously documented, systematically organized, and challenging monograph. His use of the printed literature and sources of the period is exemplary. Although a demanding exercise in intellectual history, this book is profoundly significant for scholars concerned with English religious thought." Albion