"This book is the first extensive treatment of religion in the life of the poet Robert Burns since A. Burns Jamieson's study, Burns and Religion (1931). Incorporating previously unexplored sources, and taking into consideration recent work on Burns, and on Scottish literature and history, author J. Walter McGinty presents an updated account of Burns's personal religion and the factors that helped to form it."

"McGinty begins by discussing the recurring themes in Burns's religious writings: a beliefs in a benevolent God; a hankering after, if not a hope, that there might be a life after death; and a sense of his own accountability. He then presents for comparison the religious poetry of two of Burns's contemporaries, William Cowper and Christopher Smart, usefully extending the discussion of Burns beyond the purely Scottish context. Finally, McGinty provides portraits of some of the ministers of 'The Church of Scotland's Garland - A New Song', followed by an analysis of Burns's religious poetry."--Jacket.