Abstract
Vail examines the impact of Protestant Nonconformity on English society in the twentieth century, with particular reference to working-class communities. He considers the reasons for the breakdown in the relationship between Protestant Nonconformists and political Liberalism. He then examines the continuing impact of Nonconformists on English working-class life, particularly through a range of auxiliary organisations providing educational and social services: including the Adult Schools, the Brotherhood Movement, and the Brigade Movements, as well as their involvement in early experiments in adult and further education. Finally, he gives a critical examination of the prevalent assumption of secularisation, and considers parallels between Protestant Nonconformists’ responses to late twentieth-century cutbacks in welfare provision and their earlier activities prior to the welfare state.
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Vail, A. (2016). Protestant Nonconformists: Providers of Educational and Social Services. In: Ackers, P., Reid, A. (eds) Alternatives to State-Socialism in Britain. Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34162-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34162-0_5
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