Religious and Philosophical Movements in the Victorian Era: Influences and Critiques

The Importance of Victorian Religion

During the victorian age, Religion gained a primarily role, in fact listening to sermons was considered a common pastime and the most important institution of that period were run by the church. there were a lot of different movements such as the Evangelicalism. Evangelicalism influenced Victorian emphasis upon moral conduct as the test of the good Christian. It was inspired by the teachings of John Wesley that is the founder of Methodism. the Evangelicals believed in the literal truth of the Bible;the obedience to a strict code of morality which opposed many forms of entertainment and the dedication to humanitarian causes and social reform.But there were also other movements such as Utilitarianism. It was based on Jeremy Bentham’s principles. The origins of this movement can be traced back to the Greek philosopher Epicurus. According to Utilitarianism, an action is morally right if it has consequences that lead to happiness and it was considered morally wrong if it brings about the reverse. According to this movement all institutions should be tested in the light of reason and common sense to determine whether they are useful, measuring the extent to which they provide for the material happiness of the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism suited the interests of the middle class and contributed to the Victorian conviction that any problem could be overcome through reason. But the utilitarian indifference to human and cultural values was firmly attacked by many intellectuals of the Victorian age including Charles Dickens.