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The Science of Religion
in Britain, 1860–1915
Marjorie Wheeler-Barclay’s upcoming book hailed as
“major contribution to the history of ideas, the history
of religion, and British history”
When Marjorie Wheeler-
Barclay’s book is released
in November, it will represent
more than 20 years of research and
work.
“Some people get really tired
of something when they do it over
a period of time,” said Wheeler-
Barclay, the Charles A. Dana
Professor of History. “I never did.
I kept reading new things and
learning new things, and that
kept me excited about what I was
doing.”
Wheeler-Barclay’s book, The
Science of Religion in Britain, 1860–
1915, is part of the Victorian Literature
and Culture Series published by the
University of Virginia Press. “I’m
particularly pleased that it is going
to be published in a series that has
a good reputation for Victorian
history,” Wheeler-Barclay said.
She began work on the project,
which is based on her dissertation,
more than 20 years ago. During
that time, Wheeler-Barclay’s
research has taken her to London,
Oxford, Cambridge, and Scotland,
where she spent time delving into
archives of personal papers and
other documents of six scholars
from the late 19th century who
studied religion as a social and
human institution.
“What they accomplished
was not so much to persuade
people that religion was true or
false, but rather to contribute
to a changing understanding of
what religion itself was,” she said.
“For many years, the consensus
among scholars in different fields
was that as societies become more
industrialized and modern, they
become more secular, and religion
seems to be less meaningful. The
past 20 years would suggest it is not
that simple. Religion just doesn’t
go away because people aren’t living
in peasant societies.”
A graduate of the University
of Illinois in Chicago, Wheeler-
Barclay earned her Ph.D. from
Northwestern University. She came
to the College in 1986 and teaches
modern European history.
The book has received favorable
reviews from fellow scholars.
Jeffrey Cox, author of The British
Missionary Enterprise since 1700,
said Wheeler-Barclay’s book was a
“major contribution to the history
of ideas, the history of religion, and
British history … Wheeler-Barclay
has succeeded in defining ‘the
science of religion’ and put each
of its practitioners into an entirely
new light. It is a considerable
achievement.”
She wanted her book to
provide a different perspective of
the Victorian era. “It’s important
for people to know that during the
second half of the 19th century,
debates about religion were not
just about whether the Bible was
literally correct. There was a much
wider grappling of problems going
on. A lot of American and European
culture today ignores big questions
because we don’t think they can be
answered. In the 19th century, they
had more of a tendency to tackle
things head on. I find it admirable,
and it’s certainly more fascinating
as you get to know about Victorian
culture.”
Now that her book is finished,
Wheeler-Barclay is wasting no time
starting a new project. She began
work on her latest research this
summer. She is studying the history
of the 19th century controversies
surrounding Stonehenge.
“I think,” she laughed, “I’ll just be
doing an article for that one.”
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