Devotional cultures of European Christianity, 1790–1960

Henning Laugerud & Salvador Ryan, editors

‘This fine collection of scholarly essays … opens with two excellent scene-setting pieces, one Protestant and one Catholic … One of the main advantages of a multi-authored volume on a discrete area of scholarship is that it allows students and scholars to take stock of recent historiographical shifts … [this book] offers a well-researched and stimulating collection of scholarly essays on European devotional currents that will be of interest to scholars and students alike', Mary Heimann, Catholic Historical Review (July 2013).

‘[A] delightful and well-presented book … this study is yet another demonstration if one was still needed of the importance of studying the materiality of religious belief, of carefully attending to the objects used by believers in the practice of their faith. It is precisely this issue of practice that is attended to so well in this present set of essays … The Introduction is succinctly written but is also an excellent theoretical framework for the rest of the book … If further evidence was required about the vibrancy of devotional cultures, this book produces it in a lavish fashion … this fine collection opens doors to a neglected world and suggests many fruitful areas to be explored in the future', Liam Tracey, Irish Theological Quarterly (June 2013).

‘This is a worthwhile volume of essays, all the more so because it leads us beyond the narrow bounds of history and into wider fields such as philosophy and anthropology, helping us to understand better not only the history of the European nineteenth century devotional revolution, but also the forces that shaped it and the consequences that have flowed from it. The book has been well prepared and has an interesting range of plates and illustrations', John McKeever, Seanchas Ard Mhacha (2012).

‘In part because of the clear and thoughtful introduction by the editors and in part owing to the intelligence of the individual pieces, the volume coheres to give a rich overview of nineteenth-century religious practice up to the 1960s, ranging from music, art and architecture to preaching and politics', Caroline Walker Bynum, The Furrow (July/August 2012).

‘The book comprises very varied contributions which when read in conjunction, form an interesting exploration of interdisciplinary scientific research in this field ... This very varied and interdisciplinary collection with particularly well-documented contributions demonstrates that developments in spirituality and devotional culture display similarities in the various religious denominations and churches', Rob Faesen, International Journal in Philosophy and Theology (2012).