Colin Jager

"Romanticism and Secularism" is a study of secularism from 1688 to the early nineteenth century. Concentrating primarily but not exclusively upon Great Britain, and primarily but not exclusively upon literary culture, the study shows first how romantic ideals of "the literary" influenced debates about secularism and religion, and second how those ideals continue to shape our understanding of secularism and religion today. This project therefore intervenes in romantic studies, joining other recent books in developing a more nuanced picture of the relationship between romanticism and religion. By offering a "literary history" of secularism, moreover, this study also intervenes in a conversation about secularism that has thus far been dominated by sociologists and anthropologists.