The Christian Year – Still Needed? John Keble on the ‘Co-Extensiveness’ of Church and State
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Matteo Nicolini
Matteo Nicolini is Associate Professor of Public Comparative Law, Department of Law, University of Verona (Italy), Visiting Lecturer at the Newcastle University Law School (UK), and External Partner of the Centre for the Study of Law in Theory and Practice (LTAP), Liverpool John Moores University (UK). His fields of research include comparative methodology, federal studies, constitutional adjudication, law and literature, African law, and legal geography. He is the author of several monographs, essays, and articles in Italian, Spanish, and English.
Abstract
After the English Reformation, the Anglo/British constitutional settlement was characterised, both legally and theologically, by the co-extensiveness of Church and body politic. Under this ‘Protestant constitution’, representation and moralisation coincided; and Parliament reflected the English, decisively Anglican, and conformist body politic. The enactment of the Sacramental Test Act 1828, the Catholic Relief Act 1829, and the Great Reform Act 1832 put an end to this organic union; Dissenters and Catholics alike could now elect and be elected to Parliament. Reactions were heart-breaking. That of John Keble – the father of the Oxford Movement – was particularly poignant. When the Irish Temporalities Bill was tabled before Parliament, Keble decided to intervene. He addressed the question in a sermon preached at St. Mary’s, Oxford, on July 14th, 1833, under the heading of ‘National Apostasy’. Besides hinting at a possible disestablishment of the Church of England, his sermon was (and still is) a masterpiece in constitutional theory.
About the author
Matteo Nicolini is Associate Professor of Public Comparative Law, Department of Law, University of Verona (Italy), Visiting Lecturer at the Newcastle University Law School (UK), and External Partner of the Centre for the Study of Law in Theory and Practice (LTAP), Liverpool John Moores University (UK). His fields of research include comparative methodology, federal studies, constitutional adjudication, law and literature, African law, and legal geography. He is the author of several monographs, essays, and articles in Italian, Spanish, and English.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Constitutional Theory as Literature in the 19th-Century Anglosphere
- Focus
- Charles Dickens, Albert Venn Dicey, and Openness in the Anglosphere
- Rhetoric and Empire: Constitutional Thought and Literature in the 19th-Century Anglosphere
- Authoring the Nation: Madame de Staël and the Literary Origins of the State
- The End of the Victorian Era: Reflections on an Edwardian Viewpoint
- Illustrating the Indian Penal Code: Bigamy, the Victorian Novel, and the Formation of National Identity
- The Christian Year – Still Needed? John Keble on the ‘Co-Extensiveness’ of Church and State
- Research
- We Have Never Been Persons!
- A Tragic Photograph: Emotional Journey of a Political Spectator
- Thoughts, Words, and Promises: Fides and the Legal Significance of the Inner Sphere
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Constitutional Theory as Literature in the 19th-Century Anglosphere
- Focus
- Charles Dickens, Albert Venn Dicey, and Openness in the Anglosphere
- Rhetoric and Empire: Constitutional Thought and Literature in the 19th-Century Anglosphere
- Authoring the Nation: Madame de Staël and the Literary Origins of the State
- The End of the Victorian Era: Reflections on an Edwardian Viewpoint
- Illustrating the Indian Penal Code: Bigamy, the Victorian Novel, and the Formation of National Identity
- The Christian Year – Still Needed? John Keble on the ‘Co-Extensiveness’ of Church and State
- Research
- We Have Never Been Persons!
- A Tragic Photograph: Emotional Journey of a Political Spectator
- Thoughts, Words, and Promises: Fides and the Legal Significance of the Inner Sphere
