Theologia Cambrensis

As well as outlining the shape of Welsh religious history generally, this volume describes the development of Calvinistic Methodist thought up to and beyond the secession from the Established Church in 1811, and the way in which the Evangelical Revival impacted the Older Dissent to create a vibrant popular Nonconformity. Along with analysing aspects of theology and doctrine, the narrative assesses the contribution of such key personalities as William Williams Pantycelyn, Thomas Charles of Bala andThomas Jones of Denbigh, and the Nonconformists Titus Lewis, Joseph Harris ‘Gomer’, George Lewis, David Rees and Gwilym Hiraethog. Following the notorious ‘Treachery of the Blue Books’ of 1847 and the Religious Census of 1851, Anglicanism regained ground, and among the themes treated in the latter chapters are the influence of High Church Tractarianism and the Broad Church ‘Lampeter Theology’ in the parishes. The volume concludes by assessing the intellectual culture of evangelicalism personified by Lewis Edwards and Thomas Charles Edwards, and describes the challenges of Darwinism, philosophical Idealism and a more critical attitude to the biblical text.

The first of a two-volume analysis of theology in Wales, this volume begins with the publication of Bishop William Morgan’s Bible in 1588 and concludes with the first phase of the Evangelical Revival in 1760. It assesses the development of Puritanism and of doctrine within the Church of England, Dissenting theology including Calvinism and Arminianism, the doctrinal vision of Griffith Jones Llanddowror, and the way in which an evangelistically vibrant moderate Calvinism contributed to the rise of the Methodist movement. As well as evaluating thought and ideas, it assesses the contribution of such vivid personalities as Morgan Llwyd, Charles Edwards, James and Jeremy Owen, Daniel Rowland and William Williams Pantycelyn.

The evangelical or Methodist revival had a major impact on Welsh religion, society and culture, leading to the unprecedented growth of Nonconformity by the nineteenth century, which established a very clear difference between Wales and England in religious terms. Since the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist movement did not split from the Church to form a separate denomination until 1811, it existed in its early years solely as a collection of local society meetings. By focusing on the early societies in south-west Wales, this study examines the grass roots of the eighteenth-century Methodist movement, identifying the features that led to its subsequent remarkable success. At the heart of the book lie the experiences of the men and women who were members of the societies, along with their social and economic background and the factors that attracted them to the Methodist cause.

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