The Sunday School Movement

"Since most of the member societies of the Association of Denominational Historical Societies and Cognate Libraries were sponsors of Sunday Schools, it is entirely appropriate that the Association's third conference should explore this important subject. These lively and carefully researched papers are of great interest. They will inform readers and stimulate further research. The book is a worthy tribute to a significant movement which, owing to changes in society and in patterns of worship, has been reduced to a shadow of its former self within the space of one lifetime."

--Alan P. F. Sell, Acadia University Divinity College



"Sunday Schools taught faith, duty, and--for much of their existence--literacy. As this collection of essays covering the whole period since their origin shows, they trained successive generations of children with dedication, often with flexibility, and usually with an intelligent concern for the welfare of their charges."

--David Bebbington, University of Stirling



"The papers from this conference to mark the bicentenary of the National Sunday School Union offer important new insights and perspectives on one of the most significant social institutions of modern Britain from the late eighteenth to the mid twentieth century. Social and religious historians will gain much from this book."

--David M. Thompson, University of Cambridge



"Although its influence remains in many beliefs and attitudes, few would imagine that the Sunday School was once a major British institution catering for hundreds of thousands of adults and children. This book fills a gap in British social and religious history. Many of its readers will discover their grandparents and perhaps their parents in these fascinating pages."

--John M. Hull, University of Birmingham and Queen's Foundation