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Methodism: Good Orderly Direction or Tool of the “Dark, Satanic Mills?”
Margaret Hall
H. V. Jenkins High School
Savannah, GA
2008 NEH Seminar for School Teachers
Interpretations of the Industrial revolution in Britain
An outgrowth of the Church of England, Methodism emerged during the 18th Century and achieved its fastest acceleration in Great Britain during the time of the Industrial Revolution. Why it became so popular, especially among the industrial poor, and whether they benefited or suffered from its teachings, has been a topic of debate among historians. Was it a boon for the factory-owner, a useful tool to keep the worker in submission, or a solace for the worker, and a way for him or her to construct a better existence? To examine how Methodist teachings may have influenced the course of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, Kenneth Morgan looks at religion and society in the 1730s, and the rise of the evangelical movement.
Described by some as “the age of atonement” because it taught that Christ died on the cross so that man’s sins could be forgiven, the Evangelical Movement swept over England and across all sects of Christianity in the 1730s. Unlike the upper classes who patronized the official religion, Evangelicals focussed on the pulpit, not the altar; their sights were set not upon ritual, but social improvements. Although male-dominated in its hierarchy, many women joined the men in philanthropic activities such as establishing rescue houses and inspecting institutions. Prominent among the concerns of the evangelicals was the anti-slavery movement, but many advocated for Sunday schools, prison reforms, improved factory working conditions, and Bible study, and against cruelty to animals and lewd entertainment. Methodism arose out of the evangelical movement under the leadership of John Wesley.
In order to understand the Methodist movement, it is important to try to understand the character of its founder. His experiences in early life shaped the man he would become, and foreshadowed the nature of the religion he founded. Born in 1703 to a rector at Epworth, and rescued from a house fire at a young age, John Wesley felt he was marked for great things; he was “a brand plucked from the burning.” He and his brothers and sisters enjoyed a well-regulated childhood, with eating, sleeping, education and religion doled out in proper proportion. His parents believed that “breaking the will” laid a proper foundation of religion and morality. A man of contrasts, he was known for his reasoned approach to personal situations, but he also fervently believed in the workings of the divine and diabolical. For instance, when the Epworth rectory experienced a series of mysterious knockings, John was the first to suspect it to be the workings of Old Jeffery, a ghost with Jacobite sympathies who knocked whenever the family prayed for King George. Ordained at Oxford in 1725, he helped to develop the ‘Oxford Holy Club,’ a network of adherents who worked and prayed together for social good. So named and even ridiculed because the nature of their religious observation was so systematic and methodical, the he later adopted the nickname with some pride.
In 1735, reluctant to step into his father’s shoes, and eager to begin again in the untouched wilderness, John and his brother Charles travelled with George Oglethorpe to the new state of Georgia, hoping to convert the natives and guide the settlers. Although the Georgia episode lasted only three years, his traffic there with the Moravians, and difficulty with a love interest, had a profound effect on him. He admired the Moravians, who displayed unshaken calm in the face of a tremendous storm encountered on the voyage. He also admired one of the female settlers, who may have returned his regard, but since Wesley didn’t speak up, she married another. When Wesley refused her communion, her uncle (himself the subject of financial investigations) accused him of abusing clerical privileges, so both Wesley’s soon ended on a ship back to the England, evading Georgia justice.
During his time in England before, John sought salvation through works; now, accepting the beliefs of his Moravian friends, he believed that the ‘saving faith’ he sought could be received in a sudden moment. First Charles, then he, had a conversion experience: a process where the sinner acknowledges sin, repents, justifies, receives assurance, and attains perfection. John Wesley resumed his preaching to the societies, but was attacked by the official Church of England for his “enthusiasm,” (claims to special revelations), for teaching salvation through faith and not by good works, and for breaches of church order. They objected to his open-air services, his use of lay preachers, and informal testimony of converts. Encouraged by George Whitefield, a charismatic orator who spoke to the miners in Kingswood near Bristol, Wesley reached out to the rural folk overlooked by the Church, and spread the gospel to the poor, whom he regarded as his spiritual, if not social, equals. He explained the screaming, fainting and convulsions, which marked his services as caused by nature, God, or the Devil. By incorporating superstition and magic in his sermons, he forged a bond with the lower classes, and Methodism’s appeal spread.
It grew not only due to Wesley’s style of preaching, but because of the organizational style of the societies. It grew because talented lay people were invited into leadership positions to preach, despite their level of education, so charismatic speakers persuaded crowds to seek salvation. It grew because the preachers saw the whole world as their parish, and itinerant preachers travelled to the people, rather than the people to the church. It grew because of the inclusive and empowering nature of the weekly meetings, open to women as well as men. Hymn singing flourished in these communities, which fostered communal solidarity and spread literacy. After 1761, women were even permitted to preach. Societies formed where the masses gathered, Revival events fuelled imaginations, and individual experiences of faith qualified many to share Scripture and proselytise. Methodism became the fastest growing denomination in Great Britain, increasing exponentially in popularity, even after Wesley’s death.
In 1795 the Methodists broke from the Church of England, and over the course of the next several decades various factions diverged from the central Wesleyan Methodism. Though they differed in personality, all sects embraced the same doctrine and worshipped in a fashion described as emotional and spontaneous, the very opposite of the style admired by the Church of England, the dominant church of the upper classes. Followers of the Primitive Methodist Connexion held camp meetings at which believers again experienced those extreme physical symptoms of religious fervour; however, a majority of the Methodists attended weekly class meetings conducted with order and decorum, which focussed on the Bible, and how it related to an individual’s experiences. Most congregants were skilled artisans in the industrial and urban districts who embraced the Methodist teaching characterized by sobriety, orderliness, punctuality, and obedience to authority.
Methodism employed the carrot and stick approach to redemption: fear of a vengeful God and desire for reward in heaven motivated the followers. Rewards on earth were not available to the average working man. To the miner descending to the depths or the furnace stoker at the iron factory a vengeful God made sense—how else to explain his condition? According to J. L. and Barbara Hammond, working classes sought an extreme religion that reflected their extreme circumstances. The industrious poor had witnessed God’s wonder and fury in their life, and hoped for a better world after this one. They wanted “a religion that recognised that the world did not explain itself and that it was full of seeming paradox and injustice and tragedy” (Hammond 276). Tales from the Old Testament, which chronicled the oppressed Jews wandering in foreign lands under despotic rulers, reflected their own experiences under an unresponsive government and unfeeling factory owner. In this way the rich metaphor of the Bible enriched the imagination of the worker. This religion which embraced the doctrine of free will offered freedom from bondage and conferred importance on every person’s life, emphasized that man’s fate lie in his or her own hands. Faith provided happiness--a state of mind independent of man’s physical state--because all, rich or poor, are equal in heaven.
The Hammonds observed that the Methodist vision of the reward in heaven, the “perfect peace of expectation,” may have hindered social reform. Compare it to the trade unionist movement: Methodism taught patience, that the individual must be resigned to his or her fate; the unions taught impatience, and empowered the worker to protest. Methodism uplifted the worker from his or her everyday drudgery, and encouraged intense spiritual individualism; whereas unions confronted rather than uplifted, combined rather than separated, and promoted loyalty to class. The Hammonds suggest “the Methodist movement was call not for citizens, but for saints.” Whether vice or virtue, Methodism provoked strong response: William Cobbett, famous political reporter and long-time advocate of reform, saw Methodists as enemies of reform. Some historians have argued that Methodism inhibited the workers from pursuing their rights via revolution, like the French chose to do. Morgan summarizes the viewpoints of several historians who, focusing on the negative aspects, identify Methodists as narrow-minded, their culture repressive and bigoted, with sin and shame as the motivating factors and primary means of fostering submission in the workers.
If Methodism fostered obedience, which may have somewhat postponed reform and allowed the worker to put up with more than necessary, it also fostered qualities, which assisted the social reform movement.How much did revolution help the French? They ended up with a dictator; the English eventually achieved significant reforms. The Methodist habit of communal solidarity was mimicked later in union solidarity. The Methodists encouraged mutual fellowship, where every member had a chance to be heard. People who are accustomed to speaking out and making a difference have a greater chance at becoming citizens, not victims. Methodist societies provided opportunities for leadership: people could rise to the position of class leader, trustee, steward, prayer leader, or Sunday school teacher. All their training in organizations was a force for stability, not stagnation. They enjoyed a supportive, caring network, which provided a sense of security, and where they formed lifelong friendships and picked life partners. They sang together, which promoted literacy. How can the ability to read hinder their progress? Although some manufacturers may have been grateful for the tenets of sobriety, orderliness, and punctuality counselled by Methodist preachers, the fact that many social reformers advocating improved factory conditions emerged out of the Methodist tradition indicates that the Methodist system of organising, and habits of communal fellowship and education produced beneficial effects for the workers.
Works Cited
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Ed. E. A. Livingstone. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.University of Nottingham.18 July 2008
Hammond, J.L. and Barbara. The Town Labourer: The New Civilization 1760-1832, New York: Harper & Row, 1970. First published by Longmans, Green and Company, London, 1917.
Harrison, John F. C."Methodism"The Oxford Companion to British History. Ed. John Cannon. Oxford University Press, 1997. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.University of Nottingham.20 July 2008< >
Morgan, Kenneth. The Birth of Industrial Britain: Social Change, 1750-1850. Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited, 2004.
Rack, Henry D. ‘Wesley, John (1703–1791).’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004. 27 July 2008 <