ABSTRACT
This chapter sketches a broad picture of the main varieties of religious opinion and practice within Britain during the nineteenth century. It seeks to bring to light new aspects of well known religious traditions, and new voices from within them, but also to broaden the range of what has typically been included in surveys of religion in this era. The geopolitical dimensions of nineteenth-century religion are recognised by the decision to include perspectives from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The chapter forms the foundation of this four-volume series, depicting the established bases of faith on which were built structures of feeling, missionary endeavour, and from which sceptics dissented. The broadly titled section ‘Religious Traditions from Asia’ includes faith traditions predominant in the Middle East and in India which were brought to Britain through the channels of trade and empire by migrants and converts.
