Religious diversity and ferment characterize the period that gave rise to Romanticism in England. It is generally known that many individuals who contributed to the new literatures of the late eighteenth century came from Dissenting backgrounds, but we nonetheless often underestimate the full significance of nonconformist beliefs and practices during this period. Daniel White provides a clear and useful introduction to Dissenting communities, focusing on Anna Barbauld and her familial network of heterodox 'liberal' Dissenters whose religious, literary, educational, political, and economic activities shaped the public culture of early Romanticism in England. He goes on to analyze the roles of nonconformity within the lives and writings of William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey, offering a Dissenting genealogy of the Romantic movement.

Religious diversity and ferment characterize the period that gave rise to Romanticism in England. It is generally known that many individuals who contributed to the new literatures of the late eighteenth century came from Dissenting backgrounds, but we nonetheless often underestimate the full significance of nonconformist beliefs and practices during this period. Daniel White provides a clear and useful introduction to Dissenting communities, focusing on Anna Barbauld and her familial network of heterodox 'liberal' Dissenters whose religious, literary, educational, political, and economic activities shaped the public culture of early Romanticism in England. He goes on to analyze the roles of nonconformity within the lives and writings of William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey, offering a Dissenting genealogy of the Romantic movement.

For much of British history, kings and queens have taken oaths on the Bible as they were coronated. Symbolically perhaps, President George Washington swore on an open Bible, establishing a new American tradition. For Washington, the Bible was opened at random, and many of his successors followed suit. Others have chosen specific verses or books of the Bible. The reasons for a particular choice are as varied as the men who have occupied the office. interestingly enough, more than twice as many have chosen Old Testament verses as New Testament ones, and the Psalms have been used more than any other book. Perhaps the position of the Psalms at the centre of many Bibles explains the choice; triumphant Presidents choosing joyful texts is another explanation. Every American president from Washington through Clinton is discussed.