Oxford Movement Critical Essay | Critical Essay by John L. Morrison

Critical Essay by John L. Morrison

SOURCE: "The Oxford Movement and the British Periodicles," in The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. XLV, No. 2, July, 1959, pp. 137-60.

In the essay that follows, Morrison examines the political conservatism of the Oxford Movement, which called for strong protection of the Church against government intervention and the renewed sanctity of the Anglican Church; he traces the changes in public opinion of the movement by reviewing journals and periodicals of the time.

Periods of political reform are often marked by reactionary movements in religion. As the liberals take control of the legislative processes, Toryism retreats within the sanctuary where religion not infrequently becomes the tortoise shell of the conservatives. Safely ensconced, their defensive needs narrow to the requirement that they not be drawn out by the demands of the State. They seek to formulate a system which justifies and sustains a maximum of independence from secular control. Historically, they become...
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