Book excerpt: The relationship between church and state, indeed between religion and politics, has been one of the most significant themes in early modern English history. While scores of specialized studies have greatly advanced scholars' understanding of particular aspects of this period, there is no general overview that takes into account current scholarship. This volume discharges that task. Solt seeks to provide the main contours of church-state connections in England from 1509 to 1640 through a selective narration of events interspersed with interpretive summaries. Since World War II, social and economic explanations have dominated the interpretation of events in Tudor and early Stuart England. While these explanations continue to be influential, religious and political explanations have once again come to the fore. Drawing extensively from both primary and secondary sources, Solt provides a scholarly synthesis that combines the findings of earlier research with the more recent emphasis on the impact of religion on political events and vice versa.