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November 5, 2003

Boise State Prof's Book Examines Catholics In Protestant England

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Catholics living in Protestant England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries struggled to maintain their identity in the face of massive state-supported religious reforms � reforms that often lead to persecution or even death. Their efforts are chronicled in a new book by Boise State University history professor Lisa McClain titled Lest We Be Damned: Practical Innovation and Lived Experience Among Catholics in Protestant England, 1559-1642. Sixth in a series by Routledge Press looking at religion in history, society and culture, Lest We Be Damned (273 pages, $65, hardback) explores how ordinary Catholics dealt with the reforms that came with the rise in power of the Church of England. In the absence of Catholic churches, priests and sacraments, McClain looks at how Catholics, fearful over their chances at salvation, made innovatory changes to religious rituals, identity and community. The book also looks at the concept of negotiation between spiritual and secular authority, drawing parallels to contemporary Western society and concerns over religion, zealousness and even terrorism. �How and under what circumstances does religion evolve in new directions, both acceptable and unacceptable to the institution and the rest of [the] believers?� she asks in the book�s forward, contending that, �this study provides a basis from which to answer [those questions], not just for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but for the present as well.� McClain�s area of research specialty is religion during the Reformation era and gender and popular culture in early modern Europe. In addition to teaching history at Boise State, she is director of the gender studies program. She earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of Texas at Austin, where she served as a lecturer in history. -30- Contact Lisa McClain Department of history 208 426-1985 Media Contact Kathleen Craven communications and marketing 208 426-3275

Last reviewed on Thursday, July 21, 2005