This thorough history of the Wesleyan Methodist educational efforts in Victorian England discusses the influence of Dr. James Harrison Rigg, Principal of Westminster Training College, who dominated his church and who made friendships with senior politicians of the day. The book also looks in depth at the influence of anti-Catholicism, which was rampant in the Methodist church of the era.
Filling an important gap in the historiography of Victorian Britain, this book examines the English Catholic Church's efforts during the second half of the nineteenth century to provide elementary education for Catholics.
Specially commissioned to mark the 40th Anniversary of History of Education, and containing articles from leading international scholars, this is a unique and important volume. Over the past forty years, scholars working in the history of education have engaged with histories of religion, gender, science and culture, and have developed comparative research on areas such as education, race and class. This volume demonstrates the richness of such work, bringing together some of the leading international scholars writing in the field of history of education today, and providing readers with original and theoretically informed research. Each author draws on the wealth of material that has appeared in the leading SSCI-indexed journal History of Education, over the past forty years, providing readers with not only incisive studies of major themes, but delivering invaluable research bibliographies. A ‘must have’ for university libraries and a ‘must own’ for historians. This book was originally published as a special issue of History of Education.
Revivals are outbursts of religious enthusiasm in which there are numerous conversions. In this book the phenomenon of revival is set in its broad historical and historiographical context. David Bebbington provides detailed case-studies of awakenings that took place between 1841 and 1880 in Britain, North America and Australia, showing that the distinctive features of particular revivals were the result less of national differences than of denominational variations. These revivals occurred in many places across the globe, but revealed the shared characteristics of evangelical Protestantism. Bebbington explores the preconditions of revival, giving attention to the cultural setting of each episode as well as the form of piety displayed by the participants. No single cause can be assigned to the awakenings, but one of the chief factors behind them was occupational structure and striking instances of death were often a precipitant. Ideas were far more involved in these events than historians have normally supposed, so that the case-studies demonstrate some of the main patterns in religious thought at a popular level during the Victorian period. Laymen and women played a disproportionate part in their promotion and converts were usually drawn in large numbers from the young. There was a trend over time away from traditional spontaneity towards more organised methods sometimes entailing interdenominational co-operation.
As a religious and social phenomenon Methodism engages with a number of disciplines including history, sociology, gender studies and theology. Methodist energy and vitality have intrigued, and continue to fascinate scholars. This Companion brings together a team of respected international scholars writing on key themes in World Methodism to produce an authoritative and state-of-the-art review of current scholarship, mapping the territory for future research. Leading scholars examine a range of themes including: the origins and genesis of Methodism; the role and significance of John Wesley; Methodism’s emergence within the international and transatlantic evangelical revival of the Eighteenth-Century; the evolution and growth of Methodism as a separate denomination in Britain; its expansion and influence in the early years of the United States of America; Methodists’ roles in a range of philanthropic and social movements including the abolition of slavery, education and temperance; the character of Methodism as both conservative and radical; its growth in other cultures and societies; the role of women as leaders in Methodism, both acknowledged and resisted; the worldwide spread of Methodism and its enculturation in America, Asia and Africa; the development of distinctive Methodist theologies in the last three centuries; its role as a progenitor of the Holiness and Pentecostal movements, and the engagement of Methodists with other denominations and faiths across the world. This major companion presents an invaluable resource for scholars worldwide; particularly those in the UK, North America, Asia and Latin America.
Villages and towns in the Victorian era saw an expansion in educational provision, and witnessed the rise of the elementary teaching profession, often provided by local clergymen. This book investigates the social and economic relationships of such clergymen and teachers who worked co-operatively and at times in competition with each other.
Reverend Dr. Charles Leach was the only Member of Parliament who has ever lost his seat for being of 'unsound mind'. Worsted to Westminster charts how he rose from a humble birth in rural Yorkshire to become a shoemaker, prominent preacher, lecturer, traveller, writer, socialist, businessman, army chaplain, and MP. His ability to be where the action was, makes for a fascinating glimpse into the history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
This is a series of four substantial volumes designed to demonstrate the range of interests of the several Protestant Nonconformist traditions from the time of their Separatist harbingers in the 16th century to the end of the 20th century. It represents a major project of the Association of Denominational Historical Societies and Cognate Libraries. of such topics as theology, philosophy, worship, socio-political concerns, and so on. Prepared by a team of 12 editors, all of whom are expert in their areas, and drawn from a number of the relevant traditions, it should provide a much needed comprehensive view of Nonconformity, told largely in the words of those whose story it is. Nonconformity. Through contemporary writings it provides a lively insight into the life and thought of the Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians and other groups that formed pieces in the diverse mosaic of the 19th-century chapels. Each aspect of Nonconformity has an introductory discussion, which includes a guide to the secondary literature on the subject, and each passage from a primary source is put in context.
