Academic literature on the topic 'Methodism – History'

This thesis has two overarching aims. The first aim is to understand the origins and development of temperance and abstinence in British Methodism, particularly through the theology that informed what may broadly be called the Methodist teetotal movement in its period of greatest popularity from 1830 until 1919. The second is to consider the downfall of this movement in the period from 1945 until 1974, when the Methodist Connexion adopted the view that each Methodist “must consider his personal attitude to all drugs in relation to his Christian vocation”. The need for the study arises from the relative dearth of historical investigation regarding Methodism and abstinence. Representations of Methodism and abstinence tend either to be partisan or to lack wider understanding of the abstinence movement, or the theology of Methodism. Methodologically, this thesis attempts to hold together historical and theological considerations; it is important to consider both the socio-economic contexts in which diverse abstinence and teetotal movements arose and the theological motivations that drove British Methodist belief and practice. Regarding the origins and development of temperance and abstinence in British Methodism, it is proposed in this thesis that the Bible Christians were the first organised Methodist abstainers, and that their practice was likely to have been influenced by John Wesley's theologies of sanctification, holiness and Christian perfection. The thesis is an attempt to counter the Bible Christian’s diminished historical significance, as well as to investigate the likely impact of the theological underpinnings for their abstinence. Regarding the downfall of temperance and abstinence in British Methodism in the period from 1945 until 1974, this thesis will propose that a loss of focus upon holiness as a catalyst for abstinence was detrimental to the growth and continuation of the teetotal movement throughout Methodism after World War Two. It will highlight the general rejection of this focus on encouraged abstinence in the second half of the twentieth century, acknowledging the changes and disagreement within British Methodism to which this dismissal led. Concluding comments allude to the need for a renewed witness within British Methodism to societal and theological imperatives for both temperance and abstinence.

This thesis extends our understanding of the history of the Primitive Methodist Connexion by examining the denomination in a part of the country - Shropshire - in which it enjoyed considerable success during the nineteenth century, but on which there has been very little research. It takes as its starting point the relative lack of historical research on the Methodist circuit, a crucial innovation in religious provision, which gave Wesleyan Methodism and its subsequent offshoots considerable flexibility to coordinate their work in a highly effective way. To expand our understanding of Primitive Methodism in Shropshire, the structure and organisation of the Primitive Methodist circuit is outlined, and the nature of the experience provided for its followers is examined. The socio-economic profile of Primitive Methodist followers is explored and a close correlation between the social background of the preachers and their congregations is established. The factors underlying the denomination's success in the county are examined, and its progress in relation to other religious bodies is analysed. The effects of changing missionary tactics, internal dissension, sub-division and chapel building are investigated. Particular attention is paid to denominational administration, local governance, and changes in the spatial structures of circuits, as Primitive Methodism moved from early evangelistic enthusiasm towards consolidation as a major denomination.

This thesis, which assists our understanding of the interaction between religious belief and political activity, presents a study of the politics of the Primitive Methodist Church and the MPs associated with it between 1886 and 1922. This was the zenith of the Church’s political activism. It traces Primitive Methodism’s evolution from an apolitical body, preaching individual salvation and with a particular mission to the working classes, to one that also promoted social salvation through progressive politics. The Church’s emphasis on individual moral improvement during its early decades receded and it increasingly advocated collectivist solutions to social ills, eventually espousing a balanced and synergetic combination of the two principles. This increasing engagement with progressive national politics manifested itself in the election of December 1885. In the wake of the franchise extension of 1884, 12 working-class MPs were elected, five of whom were closely associated with the Church. Although two working men, including Thomas Burt, the son of a Primitive Methodist local preacher, had preceded them in 1874, this influx of plebeian MPs was an event unprecedented in parliamentary history. The proportion drawn from a minor religious denomination was also notable. All told, my research has identified 44 MPs associated with Primitive Methodism between its foundation in the first decade of the nineteenth century and 1932, when the Church merged with other Methodist denominations. Although it frequently asserted that it was not wedded to any one political party, the reality was different. Initially, the Church and its MPs were firmly Liberal. However, the Liberal allegiance gradually diminished and an increasing number of Primitives supported other political parties, particularly the emergent Labour Party. Historians have often focused on the importance of Primitive Methodists in the foundation and leadership of a number of early trade unions, particularly those for coal miners and agricultural labourers. The historian Eric Hobsbawm deduced from this that the Church experienced a ‘partial transformation … into a labour sect’: mutating from a purely religious organization into one that provided the Labour Movement with leaders. However, he lamented the lack of detailed inquiry into the religious background of the early generation of working-class MPs. This thesis remedies that deficiency in relation to the Primitive MPs, within the context of the Church’s own parliamentary agenda. The core of this study begins in 1886 with the election of the group of Primitive MPs and ends in 1922 as the Church’s leadership began to realise that political activism was no longer a harmonising force for its members. It explores the Church’s official parliamentary aims and priorities as expressed at its Annual Conferences and District Meetings, the spectrum of members’ views articulated in Church publications, and the activities of its MPs in and out of Parliament. These are considered in the context of Primitive Methodism’s social and occupational composition, its geographical distribution, and theological foundations. Although necessary to understanding the Church’s political trajectory, lack of space has restricted discussion of the Church’s political activism from 1923 to 1932 to a brief overview.

From its quit arrival in the British colonies of North America in the 1760s, Methodism unexpectedly grew to become America's largest Protestant denomination by the early nineteenth century. But its rapid growth was not limited to the early United States. Methodist missionaries attracted large numbers of converts in Britain's remaining North American and Caribbean colonies. This dissertation analyzes the connections that linked and ultimately divided Methodists across political, social, and racial lines throughout the Atlantic world, arguing that the movement’s rapid expansion amidst revolutionary change led to the fracturing of the transatlantic ties that united its adherents. This project thus expands the geographical borders of early American Methodism to include regions beyond the United States, including Britain’s Maritime, Canadian, and Caribbean colonies, and even venturing across the Atlantic Ocean to the West African community of Sierra Leone, where a large number of former slaves from the American South resettled following the American Revolution. Methodists spoke of themselves as a connection, a term that signified both their adherence to the teachings and theology of John Wesley and their attachment to other Wesleyan Methodists across the globe. The events of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, including political revolutions in North America and the Caribbean, slave rebellions, and growth of the abolitionist movement exposed strains within the Methodist connection, as adherents divided over national allegiance and race. “Methodism, Slavery, and Freedom” is organized into six broadly thematic chapters covering the period from 1770-1820. The first chapter sets the stage for those that follow, tracing the migrations of several groups of Methodists in the wake of the American Revolution. Methodists found themselves on all sides of the conflict, and participated in both the Loyalist diaspora and the republican march westward. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 propose a reexamination of Methodist attitudes toward slavery and antislavery, examining the impact of Methodist connections between the United States and the Caribbean on institutional policies and individual activities. Chapter 5 shifts attention the impact of revolutionary events and racial tensions on the ecclesiastical politics of Methodism, comparing and contrasting the first independent black Methodist churches in the United States and West Africa. The sixth and final chapter returns to some of the themes explored in chapter 1, analyzing the experience of Methodists in the United States-Canadian borderlands from the American Revolution through the War of 1812.

The thesis indicates how central Canadian Methodists came to terms with Christian perfection in the years 1828-1884. It demonstrates that the concept was a matter of constant and considerable concern, and that the primary force in determining how it was attended to was the influence of John Wesley. The main elements of the concept are set out--an experience possible through momentary faith and resulting in cleansing from sin and the ability to love God with pure love. Influences upon Canadian Methodism are probed and, in particular, the thought of John Wesley on the subject is investigated. Lines of influence from Wesley to Canadian Methodism are traced. The thesis sketches the importance of the concept as seen in attempts to define it, to bring it to personal experience, to urge others to seek and find it. In the concluding remarks, some of the writer's observations are reflected.