British Methodist Revivalism and the Eclipse of Ecclesiology

James E. Pedlar

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English

Routledge
06 May 2025

History of religion; Church history; Protestantism & Protestant Churches

Series: Routledge Methodist Studies Series

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 marginalisation 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.

By: James E. Pedlar
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032123912
ISBN 10: 1032123915
Series: Routledge Methodist Studies Series
Pages: 184
Publication Date: 06 May 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

1. Introduction 2. ‘A Division of Heart’: Separation and the Spirit in the Later Wesley 3. ‘We shall have no mastery’: Hugh Bourne and the Emergence of Primitive Methodism 4. Revival and the Reformers: James Caughey and the Schism of 1849 5. Separate but Non-Sectarian: The Salvation Army’s Ecclesiological Ambiguities 6. Catholicity of the Heart: Samuel Chadwick and Methodist Union 7. Conclusion: Revivalism’s Mixed Legacy Index

James E. Pedlar is the Donald N. and Kathleen G. Bastian Chair of Wesley Studies and an Associate Professor of Theology at Tyndale University in Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre and has served as President of the Wesleyan Theological Society.