Religious vitality in Victorian London This innovative book challenges many of the widely held assumptions about the place of religion in London the worlds first great industrial and commercial metropolis. Against the background of a thick description of the complexities of Victorian London it explores the religiosity of Londoners as expressed through the dynamic renewal of traditional faith communities including Judaism and the historic churches as well as fresh expressions of religion including the Salvation Army Mormons spiritualism and the occult and shows how laypeople especially the rich and women were mobilised in the service of their faith and their fellow citizens. Drawing on research in social economic oral cultural and womens history William Jacob argues that religious motivations lay behind concerns that subsequently preoccupied people in the twentieth and twenty first centuries. These include the changing place of women in society an active concern for social justice the sexual exploitation of women and children provision of education for all classes and all ages. Religion in Victorian London by examining religion broadly in its social and cultural context looking beyond conventional approaches to religious history it illustrates the broader significance of religion in society influencing even the expression of secularism