The focus of this collection is the nature of religious change over more than two centuries, here examined by some of the leading scholars in the field, in tribute to John McManners on his eightieth birthday.

Ranging across Europe (with a particular emphasis on France and Britain), readers will find essays which survey individual responses to crises in the religious life of the state, discuss contacts between communions, note changing patterns of worship and devotions, and explore the ways in which religion (and the lessons of the past) can offer help or consolation in the conduct of life. Some contributors deal with the close, often tense, links between religion, churchmen, and the formation and evolving character of the state; others consider the survival and adaptability of minority groups such as eighteenth-century monks, or British Jews, in response to external considerations.

In all the contributions, the interaction of private and public life is a strong feature, a reflection of its importance in Professor McManners' own writings.