In the nineteenth century the enormous appetite for religious press titles was a significant force, not just in serving the spiritual needs of the increasingly diverse religious communities of Britain and Ireland but also in driving forward innovative developments in the periodical press. The century's trademark oscillation between ‘crisis and confidence, faith and doubt’ created a demand that at times seemed unquenchable, and this questioning evangelical impulse sought expression beyond the usual rituals of religious services, missionary activity and the pulpit. In the age of print, major and minor branches of Christianity as well as other denominations, including the Anglo-Jewish community, all invested in their own religious tracts and periodicals in order to connect their geographically scattered believers and prevent lapsation (Hoppen 1998: 427; Parsons 1988: 5–7). The vibrancy of the religious press also owed much to the progressive activism of key individuals who embraced new ways of communicating their faith and were quick to capitalise on the potential of the popular press, in periodical and newspaper form, to recruit and sustain their religious constituencies.

An enormous raft of titles circulated at the national, provincial and local level, with cover prices that bridged the social divide, all helping to secure converts, raise funds and give its readers a shared identity based on their faith. In addition, the faithful were supplied with an abundance of suitable literature for the Sabbath and other designated holy days. This radical approach to the sustenance of religious life dovetailed with the printing revolution that was an intrinsic feature of nineteenth-century industrial and technological innovation (James 1976: 17–27; Jones 1996). Josef Altholz calculated that ‘religious periodicals dominated the British press’ in the nineteenth century with some 3,000 titles in circulation (Altholz 1989: 10–11; Ellegard 1957: 10–30). While many titles did not outlast the century, others such as Charles Diamond's flagship Irish paper the Catholic Herald (1888–present), the Jewish Chronicle (1841–) and the Church Times (1863–present) still survive. English Catholic papers such as the Tablet (1840–present) and the popular penny weekly Universe (1860–present) also proved to be remarkably resilient as they jockeyed for position and influence in this crowded market.