Talk:National Apostasy

Socio-economics?
I hesitated a little before writing this, because I don't have time this morning to look up and read the sermon. Thus, for what it's worth, the article's near absence of socio-economic context disturbs me. The Industrial Revolution wasn't an easy time for most people in England, and the Reform Act of 1832 also tried to address the Rotten borough system which disenfranchised most citizens, particularly in the cities. At the same time, most Europeans were experiencing substantial civil unrest (if not war), and the Continental Catholic hierarchy variously adopted an ostrich or siege mentality. The Oxford Movement this sermon supposedly sparked also became known for its social activism in the industrializing cities, yet this article gives the impression that the sermon fought against growing religious tolerance. Was Keble really criticizing Britain's 1% for using language of religious tolerance to obscure sharp (unethical if not illegal) business practices?Jweaver28 (talk) 12:56, 11 August 2014 (UTC)
 * None of the sources I've read suggest that that was what Keble was doing. All the sources I've read claim that there were political causes to his sermon. The immediate cause was the Church Temporalities Act, the wider context was the destruction of the confessional Anglican state in 1828-1829.--Britannicus (talk) 14:44, 11 August 2014 (UTC)