Originally published in 1984, this book charts the political and social consequences of Methodist expansion in the first century of its existence. While the relationship between Methodism and politics is the central subject of the book a number of other important themes are also developed. The Methodist revival is placed in the context of European pietism, enlightenment thought forms, 18th century popular culture, and Wesley’s theological and political opinions. Throughout the book Methodism is treated on a national scale, although the regional, chronological and religious diversity of Methodist belief and practice is also emphasized.

Hempton explores the rise of Methodism from its unpromising origins as a religious society within the Church of England in the 1730s to a major international religious movement by the 1880s.

Revivalism was one of the main causes of division in nineteenth century British Methodism, but the role of revivalist theology in these splits has received scant scholarly attention. In this book, James E. Pedlar demonstrates how the revivalist variant of Methodist spirituality and theology empowered its adherents and helped foster new movements, even as it undermined the Spirit’s work through the structures of the church. Beginning with an examination of unresolved issues in John Wesley’s ecclesiology, Pedlar identifies a trend of increasing marginalization of the church among revivalists, via an examination of three key figures: Hugh Bourne (1772-1852), James Caughey (1810-1891), and William Booth (1860-1932). He concludes by examining the more catholic and irenic theology of Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932), the leading Methodist revivalist of the early twentieth century who became a strong advocate of Methodist Union. Pedlar shows that these theological differences must be considered, alongside social and political factors, in any well-rounded assessment of the division and eventual reunification of British Methodism.

The essays in this volume give an account of how the agenda for theology and religious studies was set and reset throughout the twentieth century - by rapid and at times cataclysmic changes (wars, followed by social and academic upheavals in the 1960s), by new movements of thought, by a bounty of archaeological discoveries, and by unprecedented archival research. Further new trends of study and fresh approaches (existentialist, Marxian, postmodern) have in more recent years generated new quests and horizons for reflection and research. Theological enquiry in Great Britain was transformed in the late nineteenth century through the gradual acceptance of the methods and results of historical criticism. New agendas emerged in the various sub-disciplines of theology and religious studies. Some of the issues raised by biblical criticism, for example Christology and the 'quest of the historical Jesus', were to remain topics of controversy throughout the twentieth century. In other important and far-reaching ways, however, the agendas that seemed clear in the early part of the century were abandoned, or transformed and replaced, not only as a result of new discoveries and movements of thought, but also by the unfolding events of a century that brought the appalling carnage and horror of two world wars. Their aftermath brought a shattering of inherited world views, including religious world views, and disillusion with the optimistic trust in inevitable progress that had seemed assured in many quarters and found expression in widely influential 'liberal' theological thought of the time. The centenary of the British Academy in 2002 has provided a most welcome opportunity for reconsidering the contribution of British scholarship to theological and religious studies in the last hundred years.

This text is a wide-ranging survey of the principal economic and social aspects of the first Industrial Revolution.

In this, the second part of his history of the Industrial Revolution, Richard Brown examines the political and religious developments which took place in Britain between the 1780s and 1840s in terms of the aristocratic elite and through the expression of alternative radical ideologies. Opening with a discussion of the nature of history, and of Britain in 1700, it goes on to consider Britain's foreign policy, the emergence of the modern state and the mid-century 'crisis' of the 1840s. Unlike many previous works, it emphasises British not just English history. It is this diversity of experience and the focus on continuity as well as change, women as well as men, that makes this a distinctive text. Students will also find the theoretical foundations of historical narrative and analysis clearly explained.

The main theme of this book is religion and identity - not only national identity, but also regional and local identities. David Hempton penetrates to the heart of vigorous religious and political cultures, both elite and popular, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He brings to life a diverse and variegated spectrum of religious communities in all of the British Isles. With so much new British history really an extended version of old English history, Hempton has devoted more attention to the Celtic fringes, especially Ireland. It is an exercise in comparative history, but he also shows how richly coloured is the religious history of these islands. He demonstrates that even in their cultural distinctiveness, the various religious traditions have had more in common than is sometimes imagined. The book arises from the 1993 Cadbury Lectures at the University of Birmingham.