Religious Critique in Augustans
The Augustans sure didn't keep their thoughts about religion to themselves. Back in the day, people who didn't subscribe to the doctrines of the Church of England were called Nonconformists, and Daniel Defoe was one of them. The Nonconformists liked to show how hypocritical and unjust the dominant religious values of the time were.
Now, religion was a big deal back in the day. Sure, almost everyone in England was a Christian, but although there was a dominant church (the Church of England), there were lots of different denominations. And man, all these people did not get along. The Augustans may have been into attacking just about everything and everyone around them, but the Church of England was one of their favorite targets.
Shmoops:
Daniel Defoe was a religious rebel who defied the Church of England, and his character Robinson Crusoe is also a religious rebel. Delve into these quotations, which are all about Robinson's religious rebellion.
Even though Jonathan Swift was a Protestant clergyman, he attacked his Protestant fellows for not caring about the Irish poor in A Modest Proposal. Check it out here.