Genealogical Society of Victoria Online Shop

Book

The Presbyterian community in colonial Victoria was close-knit, with a high complement of regular churchgoers. Its 'respectable' leadership strongly influenced a narrow public morality, to a greater extent than its size-sixteen per cent of the population, with much higher proportions of its elite in landed wealth, commerce and politics- would suggest. In this social and cultural history, Malcolm Wood examines the community's religion and values from a secular, critical perspective. He addresses issues that make most interesting reading today, such as religious intolerance, the impact of biblical criticism, science and 'free-thought on centuries-old dogma, and the Church's lack of empathy with working class needs and most people's sense of enjoyment. His use of letters, diaries, memoirs and biographies most effectively distinguishes his book from earlier, dry ecclesiastical histories.