Rethinking church and state during the English Interregnum

Prior, Charles W. A.

Abstract

This essay offers a re-examination of the concept of Erastianism as an explanatory tool in discussions of church and state. It focuses in particular on three texts – by Pierre du Moulin, Thomas Cobbet and John Milton - that took up the question of the nature of civil power in the sphere of religion. Based on this, the essay argues that the term ‘Erastianism’ obscures the complexity and nuance of arguments about religious politics in the civil war period. It concludes by suggesting that we should instead consider these debates as contributions to discourse on civil religion.

Citation

Prior, C. W. A. (2014). Rethinking church and state during the English Interregnum. Historical research : the bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, 87(237), 444-465. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2281.12042

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Oct 21, 2013
• Publication Date: 2014-08
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Historical research
• Print ISSN: 0950-3471
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2281
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 87
• Issue: 237
• Pages: 444-465
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2281.12042
• Keywords: Erastianism; Church and state; Interregnum; Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1649-1660
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/471054
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2281.12042/abstract
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Prior, C. W. A. (2014), Rethinking church and state during the English Interregnum. Historical Research, 87: 444–465. doi: 10.1111/1468-2281.12042, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2281.12042/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.