Wondrous Words Wednesday

Kathy over at Bermudaonion's Weblog hosts Wondrous Words Wednesday. If you come across a word (or two) while reading that is new to you and would like to share your new knowledge, then hop over to Kathy's place and link up!

Here's what I've got this week from Hide & Seek by Wilkie Collins (p.15):

Latitudinarianism: Holding or expressing broad or tolerant views, especially in religious matters.

Originally Latitudinarian: A member of a group of Anglican Christians active from the 17th through the 19th century who were opposed to dogmatic positions of the Church of England and allowed reason to inform theological interpretation and judgment.

Context: The grandfather in the story is lecturing his son-in-law about how he (son-in-law) is treating the grandson who is six years old. The grandfather thinks that the son-in-law is expecting too much from his son--that he sit absolutely still through two hours of a church service and particularly a long and boring sermon.

"Do you mean to tell me that he, or any other child at his time of life, could understand anything of such a subject as that; or get an atom of good out of it? You can't--you know you can't! I say it again, it's no use taking him to church yet; and what's more, it's worse than no use, for you only associate his first ideas of religious instruction with everything in the way of restraint and discipline and punishment that can be most irksome to him."

"Latitudinarianism," said Mr. Thorpe [the son-in-law], looking and speaking straight at the the portrait of the Reverend Aaron Yollop.