author
William Stephens
d. 1718
An outspoken English clergyman and pamphleteer, he wrote forcefully about religion and public life at a time of fierce political and theological debate. His best-known work traced the rise of deism in England, giving readers a window into the anxieties of the late seventeenth century.
1 Audiobook
An Account of the Growth of Deism in England
by William Stephens
About the author
Born around 1647, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, later taking degrees that led into a career in the Church of England. He became rector of Sutton in Surrey and built a reputation as a committed Whig churchman.
He is remembered chiefly for controversial religious writing. His An Account of the Growth of Deism in England appeared in 1696 and is still noted for its early discussion of English deism. He also wrote pamphlets and sermons that engaged directly with the political and religious arguments of his day.
His outspokenness sometimes brought trouble as well as attention, but it also made him a vivid public voice in an unsettled age. He died in London on 30 January 1718.