The Margins of Orthodoxy: Heterodox Writing and Cultural Response, 1660–1750

The struggle between orthodox Anglicans and the deists, freethinkers, and atheists who opposed their exclusive claims to religious power and political authority reveals cultural practices and ideological assumptions central to an understanding of eighteenth-century thought. In this collection of essays, leading scholars look beyond the clash of philosophical propositions to examine the role of deists and freethinkers as the producers and the subjects of literary, philosophical and religious controversy. They explore the curious symbiosis between the defense of orthodoxy and the elaboration of new forms of heterodox argument; they examine the practical implications of the debate in specific areas such as the libel laws and the growing influence of Lockean philosophy; and they show how the assault on orthodoxy influenced the development of historiography, public policy, and even the rise of the novel.

• Important new insights into the cultural implications of the conflict between orthodoxy and heterodoxy in eighteenth-century Britain • Brings philosophical and intellectual issues into focus in interdisciplinary context • Wide-ranging collection of essays by leading scholars in several fields

Acknowledgments; Introduction Roger D. Lund; Part I. The Ideology and Origins of Heterodoxy: 1. Within the margins: the definitions of orthodoxy J. G. A. Pocock; 2. Freethinking and libertinism: the legacy of the English Revolution Christopher Hill; Part II. Locke and Heterodox Opinion: 3. Anticlericalism and authority in Lockean political thought Richard Ashcraft; 4. John Locke, conservative radical G. A. J. Rogers; Part III. Policing the Margins: 5. Samuel Parker, religious diversity, and the ideology of persecution Gordon Schochet; 6. The Societies for the Reformation of Manners: between Locke and the devil in Augustan England Shelley Burtt; 7. Irony as subversion: Thomas Woolston and the crime of wit Roger D. Lund; 8. The limits of moderation in a Latitudinarian parson; or, High Church zeal in a Low Churchman discover’d Jeffrey S. Chamberlain; Part IV. Orthodox Defenses, Heterodox Results: 9. Deists and Anglicans: the ancient wisdom and the idea of progress Joseph M. Levine; 10. Henry Fielding and the problem of Deism Ronald Paulson; Bibliography; Index.