Religion

Abstract

Chapter 3 discusses the role of Christianity in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century British conceptions of Europe. Geography books are often explicitly worshipful texts: they celebrate divine creation and employ Christianity as a lens to interpret the whole world. But they also use the religion to argue for Europe’s unique superiority. Furthermore, Christianity is said to be evidence of European unity, even though denominational differences simultaneously present the continent as irreparably fragmented. In analysing Europe, geographical works grapple with theological questions, especially regarding divine and human agency.