Law and Reason in Richard Hooker's Invention of Anglicanism

Abstract

Richard Hooker is said to have invented Anglicanism in his Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, giving character to an Elizabethan “settlement” of religion sadly lacking it. The Laws is a model of creative response to deeply alarming civil and religious circumstances. It is the major prose work of the English sixteenth century and is important in other ways. Hooker's distinctive sense of law and rich sense of reason are explored here as major elements in his work. The aim is to suggest the enduring interest of the Laws as a whole by pursuing two of its important themes. Of particular current interest is the framework Hooker offers for understanding the sometimes violent entanglements of religion and politics.