Overview

The Evangelical Revival of the mid-eighteenth century was a major turning point in Protestant history. In England, Wesleyan Methodists became a separate denomination around 1795, and Welsh Calvinistic Methodists became independent of the Church of England in 1811. By this point, evangelicalism had emerged as a major religious force across the British Isles, making inroads among Anglicans as well as Irish and Scottish Presbyterians. Evangelical Dissent proliferated through thousands of Methodist, Baptist, and Congregational churches; even Quakers were strongly influenced by evangelical religion. The evangelicals were often at odds with each other over matters of doctrine (like the 'five points' of Calvinism); ecclesiology (including the status of the established church); politics (as they reacted in various ways to the American and French Revolutions); and worship (with the boisterous, extemporary style of Primitive Methodists contrasting sharply with the sober piety of many Anglican advocates of 'vital religion'). What they shared was a cross-centred, Bible-based piety that stressed conversion and stimulated evangelism. But how was this generic evangelical ethos adopted and reconfigured by different denominations and in very different social contexts? Can we categorise different styles of 'heart religion'? To what extent was evangelical piety dependent on the phenomenon of 'revival'? And what practical difference did it make to the experience of dying, to the parish community, or to denominational politics?This collection addresses these questions in innovative ways. It examines neglected manuscript and print sources, including handbooks of piety, translations and abridgements, conversion narratives, journals, letters, hymns, sermons, and obituaries. It offers a variety of approaches, reflecting a range of disciplinary expertise--historical, literary, and theological. Together, the contributions point towards a new account of the roots and branches of evangelical piety, and offer fresh ways of analysing the history of Protestant spirituality.

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9780198724155

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Reviews

[A]n engaging collection This thoughtfully crafted volume delivers on its promise to offer new approaches to the foundations for and growth of pietist movements in England and Ireland from the late seventeenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. --<em>Reading Religion</em>

[A]n engaging collection This thoughtfully crafted volume delivers on its promise to offer new approaches to the foundations for and growth of pietist movements in England and Ireland from the late seventeenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. --<em>Reading Religion</em> <em>Heart Religion: Evangelical Piety in England and Ireland, 1690-1850</em>, is an engaging collection of nine essays that offer literary, theological, and historical interpretations of emotional religious experiences in diverse evangelical communities. This thoughtfully crafted volume delivers on its promise to offer new approaches to the foundations for and growth of pietist movements in England and Ireland from the late seventeenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. --<em>Reading Religion</em>

For the scholar of eighteenth-century evangelicalism, whether in the Church of England and Methodism, or in dissent and nonconformity, this collection of essays represents an important milestone in our understanding of the period and its spirituality. John Coffey has done an outstanding job in editing the collection and it will be vital reading for a generation of those seeking to understand religion in the long eighteenth century. * William Gibson, Anglican and Episcopal History * This is a superb volume of essays by leading historians, with each of the contributors offering valuable insights into evangelical spirituality. The opening essay by John Coffey, on 'Sources and Trajectories of Evangelical Piety' sets the scene in a masterly way. After enjoying it I was eager to carry on reading. The rest of the essays lived up to the high standard set by Coffey... As befits a book of essays on Heart religion, I found spiritual nourishment woven into what is a splendid tapestry of historical scholarship. * Ian M Randall (Spurgeons College), Baptist Quarterly * Heart Religion enlightens our understanding of the diverse sources and varied trajectories of evangelical piety. The volume will likely have a long shelf life...as a seminal work on the theology and spirituality of early evangelicalism. * Geordan Hammond, Church History and Religious Culture * Heart Religion deserves to be in the hands of every student... The individual chapters are each insightful and suggestive, together building up a fuller picture in mosaic. But Coffeys outstanding introduction is worth its weight in gold, both as a synthesis of the recent literature and for its prescience in identifying emerging research questions. * Andrew Atherstone (Tutor in History & Doctrine & Latimer Research Fellow, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford), Wesley and Methodist Studies *

Author Information

John Coffey is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Leicester.

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