David Sandifer on the Ethic of Innocence

Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.

The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here):

David Sandifer, ‘The Ethic of Innocence: Lessons From Early Nineteenth-Century Christian Moral Reformers’, Cambridge Papers 33, 1 (March 2024).

Here is the summary:

‘Apart from costume dramas, Victorianism has on the whole not aged well. In particular, its moral posture is often associated with rigidity and propriety, not to mention hypocrisy. This paper will seek to retrieve for closer examination one aspect of ‘Victorian values’ – the ‘ethic of innocence’ – which animated Christian reformers of the Wilberforce generation, and motivated many of their efforts. It will further attempt to draw some lessons from this mentality for Christians seeking to life faithful lives in the often bewildering cultural context of the twenty-first century.’