The Religious Affiliation of Author
Elizabeth Bowen


Author Elizabeth Bowen was a prominent 20th Century Anglo-Irish author. She was born in Dublin, Ireland but lived much of he life in London, England. As with many people who were ethnically Anglo-Irish, Bowen was religiously Protestant. [Source: Victoria Glendinning, Elizabeth Bowen, Alfred A. Knopf: New York (1978), pages 13-14.]

(With all other Irish authors we have read about from this time period, being "Anglo-Irish" and "Protestant" at the time meant that the person was a member of the Church of Ireland, which was an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. This would mean that Bown was an Anglican, but we are looking for other biographical sources to verify this.)

Elizabeth Bowen's family regularly attended St. Stephen's Church while she was growing up in Dublin. The church was attended by prosperous Dublin Protestants (Glendinning, page 21).

Although Elizabeth Bowen lived in Ireland, she personally knew few Catholics while she was growing up. The Catholic and Protestant worlds were completely separate, and she was hesitant to ask about the differences between Catholicism and her own religion (Glendinning, page 22).

Webpage created 2 September 2005. Last modified 31 October 2005.
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