Conclusion

Summary

The Conclusion begins by exploring the impact that social and cultural responses to the problem of religious difference had by the middle of the century. Drawing on examples of anti-Methodism, and incidences of inter-confessional violence in the second half of the eighteenth century, it emphasises that while religious pluralism had become an irrevocable fact of society, religious difference continued to shape contemporary social and economic interactions. There was greater capacity for mutual tolerance between different denominations by the end of the century, but contemporary examples of deep intolerance show that the ease with which prejudice could prevail should not be underestimated. Summarising the significance of religious difference in shaping both everyday interactions and the nature of some of the key cultural modes of the century, the conclusion further prompts social historians to consider religious difference as a key explanatory factor in other areas of eighteenth-century social life.