Religion was a basic source of identity in Victorian England. The overwhelming majority of the population claimed membership of one of five religious or anti-religious communities - the Anglicans, Nonconformists, Roman Catholics, Jews or Secularists. The book begins with portraits of these major communities, drawing on recent research vividly highlighting the distinctive social profile of each.

But how did these religious or anti-religious identities affect people's daily lives? The central part of the book tries to answer this question, drawing especially on oral history evidence. Church-going, Bible-reading, Sunday-observance and hymn-singing were all a major part of life for a considerable part of the population. At the same time, Church and Chapel were pervasive presences, even for those less strongly committed.

They had a central part in education and charity, an important influence on leisure, and a many-sided role in politics. None the less, there were sections of the population and areas of life where religious influences remained relatively superficial. Both sides of the picture are presented, and in particular the book analyses the complex and contradictory role of religion as both an instrument of social discipline and an inspiration to social criticism.

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Victorian England was the focus both of great religious dynamism and of deep-seated crisis. The latter part of the book explores the upsurge of evangelistic activity both at home and overseas, and the broadening of the churches' social concern, before concluding with an extended discussion of the religious crisis of the later Victorian and Edwardian years. This period saw a growth in religious doubt or unbelief, a sharp drop in church-going, and a shrinking of the churches' social role.

The book examines the evidence and evaluates the many, and contradictory, theories that have been advanced to explain why this happened.