The Latitudinarians and the Church of England, 1660-1700

"The Latitudinarians and the Church of England, 1660-1700 reexamines the religious thought of a group of important divines within the Church of England from the Restoration of 1660 until the emergence of Deism and the beginning of the Enlightenment in the late 1690s."--BOOK JACKET. "The Latitudinarians were so named by contemporary critics for their willingness to accept the political and religious changes imposed during the Interregnum, a period of extremely factious religious debate. Modern scholars have closely identified the practical theology of these moderate churchmen with the rise of Deism and religious rationalism after the Glorious Revolution. W. M.^ Spellman challenges that association by focusing on several aspects of faith important to an understanding of the Latitudinarian movement: the Latitudinarian estimate of human nature and the impact of original sin; the place of reason, grace, and divine providence in the process of salvation; and the purpose of moral reform in a theological system where works were without merit."--BOOK JACKET. "In each of these areas, Spellman shows how the Latitudinarians maintained positions indistinguishable from those championed by their