Religious Figure. An Anglican priest and an influential theologian, he was the founder of the Anglican religious tradition in England. He was born and educated in Exeter until he was sent to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. There he excelled in his studies and soon became a tutor to the sons of many important English families. He graduated MA in 1577, and became a fellow of the college in the same year, coming to the attention of Queen Elizabeth who appointed him as Master (rector) of the Temple Church in London (i.e. Dean of the Law School) in 1585-1591. Hooker's major idea was that the church should be a broad, tolerant, inclusive body. He emphasized the importance of corporate worship and reading of the Bible. In 1588, he married to a wealthy woman named Joan Churchman. They had six children, but only two survived beyond the age of 21. His main work is eight books of Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. The occasion of his writing was the demand of English Puritans for a reformation of Church government. The first four books were published together in 1593, the fifth was published in 1597, and the rest appeared after his death. Although the last three volumes were Hooker's work, they seem to have been heavily edited. The work represents one of the most distinguished examples of Elizabethan literature. It influenced John Locke, and American political philosophy in the late 1700's.
Religious Figure. An Anglican priest and an influential theologian, he was the founder of the Anglican religious tradition in England. He was born and educated in Exeter until he was sent to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. There he excelled in his studies and soon became a tutor to the sons of many important English families. He graduated MA in 1577, and became a fellow of the college in the same year, coming to the attention of Queen Elizabeth who appointed him as Master (rector) of the Temple Church in London (i.e. Dean of the Law School) in 1585-1591. Hooker's major idea was that the church should be a broad, tolerant, inclusive body. He emphasized the importance of corporate worship and reading of the Bible. In 1588, he married to a wealthy woman named Joan Churchman. They had six children, but only two survived beyond the age of 21. His main work is eight books of Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. The occasion of his writing was the demand of English Puritans for a reformation of Church government. The first four books were published together in 1593, the fifth was published in 1597, and the rest appeared after his death. Although the last three volumes were Hooker's work, they seem to have been heavily edited. The work represents one of the most distinguished examples of Elizabethan literature. It influenced John Locke, and American political philosophy in the late 1700's.
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