BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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forced to withdraw the warrant of Glengeary Kingstown Habitation in
Ireland because of its refusal to admit Catholics. Negotiations
eventually brought about the formation of a new Habitation in the
surrounding district.75
In spite of the hoopla associated with the League's promotion
of religious principles, it disguised a larger ongoing process of
secularization within society as a whole.
the declining levels of church attendance.
This trend was reflected in
In the League itself, the
process was indicated
in the secondary status given to religion,
relegated to a back seat as social
and entertainment functions assumed
primacy.
The fact that members of the Church of England and other
religious groups found it necessary to make their claims in an
extraparliamentary political
forum not exclusively devoted to
ecclesiastical issues underscored their beleaguered status. The
predominantly secular nature of League functions was amply demonstrated
in the decision reached by the Grand Council
sanction the use of prayers in opening local
in March, 1887 not to
Habitation meetings on the
basis that no such provision was made in the statutes.76
III
75 Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 14
April 1886. LGC Executive Committee Minutes, 7 May 1886. Minutes of
the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 17 March 1887; 3 June 1887;
16 July 1887. The Primrose League: The Roll of the Habitations, 1888,
p. 212.
76 Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 17
March 1887.