This collection explores the impact of religion on the formation of men and masculinities in twentieth-century Britain. Religion is explored beyond the traditional boundaries of church worship and institutional structures to encompass the diverse cultures of male sexuality, home life, war, work, immigration, leisure and sectarian politics. Issues of change, such as the decline of single-sex associational settings, the theological shifts and changing fortunes of sects, the varying visibility of queer and homosexual cultures, and the shifting boundaries and collapsing distinctions between clergy and laypeople are explored in depth.
This book shows how definitions of sexuality and gender roles operated and how such definitions articulated concerns inside a given culture.There are new approaches to understanding famous figures, such as Elizabeth I, James VI and I and his wife Anna of Denmark: Francis I: St. Teresa of Avila. Other chapters investigate topics such as militarism and court culture, and wider groups, such as urban citizens and noble families. The collection also studies ways in which gender and sexual orientation were represented in literature, as well as examinations of the theoretical issues involved in studying history from the angle of gender.