Semester of Graduation
Spring 2019
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
The emergence of C.S. Lewis as a popular author known for Christian content during the second half of the twentieth century provides an ideal case study for the transformation of religiosity within Britain. As religious behavior shifted from institutional adherence to private experience, Lewis became a ‘popular theologian’ who represented Christianity both for Christians – who looked to him for spiritual inspiration– and for non-Christians – who treated his views as representative of contemporary Christianity. By analyzing the reception, representation, and use of Lewis (his figure and his work) throughout the twentieth-century and into the twenty-first, it becomes clear that Lewis’s promotion of Anglican orthodoxy in a common vernacular, often through vivid and memorable storytelling, has endured as a readily recognizable Christian idiom in the religious culture of Britain.
Recommended Citation
Kemp, Thomas, "The New British Christianity of C.S. Lewis" (2019). LSU Master's Theses. 4875.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/4875
Committee Chair
Veldman, Meredith
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_theses.4875
Included in
Cultural History Commons, History of Religion Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Social History Commons