In attempting to discern the nature of John Clare's faith, then, one must bear the conditions of its construction in mind. Clare's 'God' repeatedly is described as a 'power', supreme and immortal. The Shepherd's Calendar provides an example of the pervasion of images of a traditional and paternalistic mode of life, inseparably incorporating the Christian religion, in Clare's thought and work. A preoccupation with theological issues is certainly more explicitly evident in the asylum poetry than in that of the pre-asylum era, but its later prevalence emphasises that issues of theological knowledge were deeply entrenched in his mind. Throughout the 1820s, Clare searches for a Christian denomination with which he might share a common creed, and thus true communion. Ironically, Clare's desire for international humanity may well have been bolstered by the Church he criticises, by the 'solicitation of alms' through 'parish briefs'.