The Christian Year – Still Needed? John Keble on the ‘Co-Extensiveness’ of Church and State

After the English Reformation, the Anglo/British constitutional settlement was characterised, both legally and theologically, by the co-extensiveness of Church and body politic. Under this ‘Protestant constitution’, representation and moralisation coincided; and Parliament reflected the English, decisively Anglican, and conformist body politic. The enactment of the Sacramental Test Act 1828, the Catholic Relief Act 1829, and the Great Reform Act 1832 put an end to this organic union; Dissenters and Catholics alike could now elect and be elected to Parliament. Reactions were heart-breaking. That of John Keble – the father of the Oxford Movement – was particularly poignant. When the Irish Temporalities Bill was tabled before Parliament, Keble decided to intervene. He addressed the question in a sermon preached at St. Mary’s, Oxford, on July 14th, 1833, under the heading of ‘National Apostasy’. Besides hinting at a possible disestablishment of the Church of England, his sermon was (and still is) a masterpiece in constitutional theory.