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THEOXFORDHISTORYOFPROTESTANT DISSENTINGTRADITIONS, VOLUMEV
THEOXFORDHISTORYOF PROTESTANTDISSENTINGTRADITIONS
GeneralEditors: TimothyLarsenandMarkA.Noll
TheOxfordHistoryofProtestantDissentingTraditions,VolumeI
ThePost-ReformationEra,c.1559–c.1689
EditedbyJohnCoffey
TheOxfordHistoryofProtestantDissentingTraditions,VolumeII
TheLongEighteenthCentury,c.1689–c.1828
EditedbyAndrewC.Thompson
TheOxfordHistoryofProtestantDissentingTraditions,VolumeIII
TheNineteenthCentury
EditedbyTimothyLarsenandMichaelLedger-Lomas
TheOxfordHistoryofProtestantDissentingTraditions,VolumeIV
TheTwentiethCentury:TraditionsinaGlobalContext
EditedbyJehuJ.Hanciles
TheOxfordHistoryofProtestantDissentingTraditions,VolumeV
TheTwentiethCentury:ThemesandVariationsinaGlobalContext
EditedbyMarkP.Hutchinson
TheOxfordHistoryof ProtestantDissentingTraditions
VolumeV
TheTwentiethCentury:Themesand VariationsinaGlobalContext
Editedby MARKP.HUTCHINSON
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Acknowledgements
Attemptingtoaddressglobalthemesonanysubjecttakesoneoutofone’ s frame,and ‘stretches’ thescholar’simaginationandskillsetinoftenpainful ways.Despitearecent(re)turnto ‘world’ andtransnationalhistory,historians arelargelycarefulcreatureswholiketostayclosetotheirsourcesandcontexts. Thesortof ‘meaningprojection’ requiredoftheauthors(andtheeditor)of thisvolumeinalmosteverycaserequiredahighlevelofvulnerability,a willingnesstobe ‘ wrong ’ onthisorthatdetailsothatsomethinglarger mightbeachieved.Ithankeachoftheauthorsfortheirwillingnesstothrow themselvesintosuchadifficulttask,particularlyCandyGuntherBrown (Indiana)forherwillingnesstoseematerialmovedsothattheconnecting tissueofthevolumecouldbeconstructedandrepetitionminimized.ToTim LarsenandMarkNoll,wecorporatelythankyouforentrustinguswiththis impossibleremit:youwon’tbesurprised,however,ifalaterapproachtodo likewisereceivesthereply ‘notknownatthisaddress’!Onamoreseriousnote, mypersonalthanksgotoTimLarsen(Wheaton),MarkNoll(NotreDame), DavidBebbington(Stirling),StuartPiggin(Macquarie),andJohnWolffe (OpenUniversity),whohavebeentreasuredcolleaguesandfellow-travellers inthecraftofhistoryformanydecades.Withoutthesageadvice(and extensivenetworks)ofthesefriends,andofexpert figuressuchasBrian Stanley(Edinburgh),duringthepreparationofthisvolume,therangeof authorialinputwouldhavebeenmorelimitedthanitis.Theyperformed repeated ‘ saves ’ when(asisinevitablewhenoperatingacross fivecontinentsin everyimaginableacademiccontext)someparticipatingauthorsdroppedout, refusedtoansweremails,moved,orjustwentsilent.Thereader’sindulgenceis soughtiftheresultofthisglobaltreasurehunthasbeenthatrathermoreof thisvolumewaswrittenbytheeditorthanwasoriginallyintended.Thisis partiallythecostofrealworkingrelationshipswithscholarswho inGhana, orIndia,orevenonthetransitoryedgesoftheacademicedificesoftheWest oftendon’tworkinpositionswherestudyleaveorfundingisavailable.This,to me,makestheirworkallthemoreremarkable,andIadmirethemforit.
Finally,tothethirdgenerationwhoknockedquietlyattheclosededitorial door LilyandOliver,Simona,Will,andAllegra theoftenabsent figure knownvariouslyas nonno or zio wouldlikeyouknowthatyouarealwaysin hisheart.Theworldisyoursandyourtalentsgreat:treatthembothkindly.
Contents
ListofContributors ix
SeriesIntroductionbyTimothyLarsenandMarkA.Noll xiii
Introduction:DissentingTraditionsinGlobalizedSettings1 MarkP.HutchinsonandCandyGuntherBrown
1.EncounterswithModernityamongReceivedSpiritualitiesand Traditions26 CandyGuntherBrown
2.DissentingTraditionsandPoliticsintheAnglophoneWorld61 GordonL.Heath
3.TheBibleintheTwentieth-CenturyAnglophoneWorld91 MarkP.Hutchinson
4.BiblicalInterpretationintheMajorityWorld131 K.K.Yeo
5.DissentingPreachingintheTwentieth-Century AnglophoneWorld170 MarkP.Hutchinson
6.PreachingintheGlobalSouth199 JasonA.Carter
7.EmergentandAdaptiveSpiritualitiesintheTwentiethCentury224 AndyLord
8.GlocalizedandIndigenizedTheologiesintheTwentiethCentury258 MarkP.Hutchinson
9.OrganizingforMinistryintheAnglophoneWorld:Reception, Adaptation,andInnovation296 BarryEnsign-George
10.TheManufactureofDissent:ReflexiveChristianTraditions inaGlobalSetting326 GrahamA.Duncan
11.DissentingTraditionsandMissionaryImaginations:Novel PerspectivesontheTwentiethCentury377 JustinD.Livingstone
12.Gender,Race,andTwentieth-CenturyDissentingTraditions416 LauraRademaker
13.Mission,Evangelism,andTranslation:FromtheWest toElsewhere443 AtolaLongkumer
14.FromReversetoInversetoOmni-NodalDissenting ProtestantMission466 MarkP.Hutchinson
15.Communications,NewTechnologies,andInnovation491 J.KwabenaAsamoah-Gyadu
Index 523
ListofContributors
J.KwabenaAsamoah-Gyadu isBaeta-GrauProfessorofContemporaryAfrican ChristianityandPentecostalStudiesattheTrinityTheologicalSeminary,Legon, Accra,Ghana.HehaspublishedwidelyonWorldChristianity,includingarticles andbookchaptersonconservativeevangelicalismandmediainAfricaand amongAfricanimmigrantcommunitiesinEuropeandNorthAmerica.His publicationsinclude ContemporaryPentecostalChristianity:Interpretations fromanAfricanContext (Eugene,2013); PentecostalMissionandGlobal Christianity (Eugene,2014);and SighsandSignsoftheSpirit:GhanaianPerspectivesonPentecostalismandRenewalinAfrica (Oxford,2015).
CandyGuntherBrown isProfessorofReligiousStudiesatIndianaUniversity, Bloomington.Ahistorianandethnographerofreligionandculture,her particularfocusistheUnitedStates(understoodwithinbroaderglobalcultural flows),andglobalcharismatichealingpractices.Shehaspublishedwidely, including TheWordintheWorld:EvangelicalWriting,Publishing,andReadinginAmerica,1789–1880 (ChapelHill,2004); GlobalPentecostalandCharismaticHealing (edited;NewYork,2011); TestingPrayer:ScienceandHealing (Cambridge,2012); TheHealingGods:ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicineinChristianAmerica (NewYork,2013),and TheFutureofEvangelicalism inAmerica (co-editedwithMarkSilk;NewYork,2016).
JasonA.Carter hasbeeninvolvedinthetrainingandequippingofpastors andleadersforovertenyearsinCentralAfrica.InEquatorialGuinea,hehas servedasafull-timeProfessorofTheology,Mission,andBiblicalStudiesat InstitutoBíblico ‘CasadelaPalabra’ (IBCPSeminary).Heistheauthorof InsidetheWhirlwind:TheBookofJobthroughAfricanEyes (Eugene,2017).
GrahamA.Duncan isEmeritusProfessorofChurchHistoryandChurch PolityattheUniversityofPretoria.Achurchhistorianandmissiologist,his particularfocusisonSouthAfricanmissionhistorywithaspecialinterestin thehistoryofPresbyterianismandtheologicaleducation.Hehaspublished widely,including Lovedale CoerciveAgency:PowerandResistanceinMission Education (Pietermaritzburg,2003); PartnershipinMission (CapeTown,2008); and TheNativeSchoolthatCausedalltheTrouble:AHistoryoftheFederal TheologicalSeminaryofSouthernAfrica (withPhilippeDenis;Pietermaritzburg, 2011).HeisalsoinvolvedintheworkoftheNationalResearchFoundationand theCouncilonHigherEducationinSouthAfrica.
BarryEnsign-George servedfortwelveyearsasAssociateforTheologyin theOfficeofTheology&WorshipofthePresbyterianChurch,USA.Hehas
writtenandtaughtextensivelyonthenatureofchurchlawanddenominational/ministryforms,including Denomination:AssessinganEcclesiological Category (co-editedwithPaulM.Collins;London,2011).
GordonL.Heath isProfessorofChristianHistory,CentenaryChairinWorld Christianity,andDirectorofCanadianBaptistArchivesatMcMasterDivinity College.Hisresearchinterestslieparticularlyintheareaofchurch–stateand church–warissues.Heistheauthorof AWarwithaSilverLining:Canadian ProtestantChurchesandtheSouthAfricanWar,1899–1902 (Montreal,2009) and TheBritishNationisOurNation:TheBACSANZBaptistPressandthe SouthAfricanWar,1899-1902 (MiltonKeynes,2017).
MarkP.Hutchinson isProfessorofHistoryatAlphacrucisCollegeinSydney. AsanAustralianintellectualhistorianhehaspublishedwidelyinthehistory ofevangelicalProtestantism(withaparticularfocusonItalianProtestantism) andAustralianhighereducation.HeisaCoreMemberoftheReligionand SocietyResearchClusteratWesternSydneyUniversity,andDeanofthe FacultyofEducation,Arts,andSocialSciences,AlphacrucisCollege,Sydney. Hehaspublished fifteenbooksandoveronehundredresearchpapers,including IroninourBlood:AHistoryofthePresbyterianChurchinNSW,1788–2001 (Sydney,2001); AShortHistoryofGlobalEvangelicalism (Cambridge,2012); and AUniversityofthePeople (NorthSydney,2014).
JustinD.Livingstone isQueen’sResearchFellowintheSchoolofArts, English,andLanguagesatQueen’sUniversityBelfast.Heisaliterarycritic andculturalhistorian,withinterestsinVictoriantravelwriting(particularly theliterarycultureofAfricanexploration),missionaryliterature,andcolonial fiction.Heistheauthorof Livingstone’ s ‘Lives’:AMetabiographyofaVictorianIcon (Manchester,2014)andiscurrentlyeditingadigitaleditionof MissionaryTravelsandResearchesinSouthAfrica (1857)forpublicationon LivingstoneOnline (http://livingstoneonline.org).
AtolaLongkumer isaBaptistfromNagalandandteachesReligionsand MissionsattheSouthAsianInstituteofAdvancedChristianStudies,Bangalore, India.Herrecentwritingsinclude FaithandCultureinSouthandCentralAsia intheEdinburghCompanionstoGlobalChristianityseries.Shealsoservesas thebookrevieweditorofthe MissionStudies journal(Brill).
AndyLord isAssociateTutoratStJohn’sCollege,Nottingham,UKand pastorsthreeAnglicanchurches.Heteachesinareasofchurch,mission,and spiritualityandisamemberoftheSocietyforPentecostalStudies.Heisthe authorof Spirit-ShapedMission (MiltonKeynes,2005); NetworkChurch (Leiden,2012);and TransformingRenewal (Eugene,2015).
LauraRademaker isPostdoctoralResearchFellowattheAustralianNational Universitywithexpertiseinhistoriesofrace,gender,andreligion.Herresearch receivedtheCouncilofHumanities,ArtsandSocialSciences2017Future LeadersPrizeandthe2016TaylorandFrancisprizeforbestarticlein History Australia.Sheistheauthorof FoundinTranslation:ManyMeaningsona NorthAustralianMission (Hawai’i,2018).
K.K.Yeo iscurrentlyHarryR.KendallProfessorofNewTestamentat Garrett-EvangelicalSeminary,andAffiliateProfessorattheDepartmentof AsianLanguagesandCulturesatNorthwesternUniversity(Evanston).He isalsoaVisitingProfessorofPekingUniversity,PekingNormalUniversity, ZhejiangUniversity,HuaqiaoUniversity,andFudanUniversityinChina.He haspublishedwidelyinEnglishandChinese,andisoneoftheeditorsofthe MajorityWorldTheologyseriesthatincludes TrinityAmongtheNations (GrandRapids,2015)and SoGreataSalvation (GrandRapids,2017).
SeriesIntroduction
TimothyLarsenandMarkA.Noll
Thereissomethingdistinctive,ifnotstrange,abouthowChristianityhasbeen expressedandembodiedinEnglishchurchesandtraditionsfromtheReformationeraonwards.ThingsdevelopeddifferentlyelsewhereinEurope.Some EuropeancountriessuchasSpainandItalyremainedRomanCatholic.The countriesorregionsthatbecameProtestantchoosebetweentwoexportable andreplicablepossibilitiesforastatechurch LutheranorReformed.Denmark andSweden,forexample,bothbecameLutheran,whiletheDutchRepublicand ScotlandbecameReformed.ThePeaceofWestphalia(1648)establishedthe rightofsovereignstochooseastatechurchfortheirterritoriesamongthosethree options:RomanCatholic,Lutheran,orCalvinist.Avarietyofstatesadopteda ‘multi-confessional’ policy,allowingdifferentfaithstocoexistsidebyside.The mostimportantalternativeexpressionof Protestantismonthecontinentwasone thatrejectedstatechurchesinprinciple:Anabaptists.
EnglandwaspowerfullyinfluencedbythecontinentalReformers,butboth thecourseandoutcomeofitsReformationwereidiosyncratic.Theinitial breakwithRomewasprovokedbyHenryVIII’smaritalproblems;theking rejectedtheReformationdoctrineofjustificationbyfaithandretainedthe Latinmass,butsweptawaymonasteriesandshrines,promotedthevernacular Scriptures,andhadhimselfproclaimedSupremeHeadoftheChurchof England.Eachofhisthreechildren(bythreedifferentwives)wastopullthe churchinsharplydifferentdirections.TheboykingEdwardVI,guidedby ArchbishopCranmerandcontinentaltheologianslikeMartinBucerandPeter MartyrVermigli,setitona firmlyReformedtrajectory,notablythrough Cranmer’ssecondPrayerBook(1552)andtheForty-TwoArticles(1553). MaryIreunitedEnglandwithRome,instigatingbothaCatholicreformation andarepressionofProtestantsthatresultedinalmostthreehundredexecutions.Finally,ElizabethIrestoredtheEdwardiansettlement(withminor revisions),whilesternlyopposingmovesforfurtherreformationofthekind favouredbysomeofherbishopswhohadspentthe1550sinexileinReformed citiesonthecontinent.IncontrasttomanyReformedchurchesabroad,the ChurchofEnglandretainedanepiscopalhierarchy,choralworshipincathedrals,andclericalvestmentslikethesurplice.
The ‘halfreformed’ characteroftheElizabethanchurchwasasourceof deepfrustrationtoearnestProtestantswhowantedtocompleteEngland’ s
reformation,to ‘purify’ thechurchof ‘popish’ survivals.Fromthemid-1560s, thesereformerswerecalled ‘Puritans’ (thoughthetermwasalsoapplied indiscriminatelytomanygodlyconformists).Theyrepresentedaspectrum ofopinion.Someweresimply ‘nonconformists’,objectingtotheenforcement ofcertainceremonies,likethesignofthecross,kneelingatcommunion,orthe wearingofthesurplice.Otherslookedfor ‘rootandbranch’ reformofthe church’sgovernment.(AllDissentingmovementswouldremainexpertat employingbiblicalimagesintheirpublicappeals,aswith ‘rootandbranch’ , takeninthissensefromtheOldTestament’sbookofEzekiel,chapter17.)
TheywishedtocreateaReformed,Presbyterianstatechurch,thatis,tomake overtheChurchofEnglandintothepatternthatultimatelyprevailednorthof theborderastheChurchofScotland.Stillothersgaveupontheestablished churchaltogether,establishingillegalseparatistchurches.Eventually,England wouldseeaproliferationofhome-grownsects:Congregationalists(orIndependents),GeneralBaptists,ParticularBaptists,Quakers(orFriends),Fifth Monarchists,Ranters,Muggletonians,andmore.
Thesereformingmovements flourishedduringthetumultuousmidcenturyyearsofcivilwarandinterregnum,whenthetowering figureofOliver Cromwellpresidedoverakinglessstateandactedasprotectorofthegodly. Butwhenthethroneandtheestablishedchurchwere ‘restored’ in1660, reformingmovementsofallsortscameundertremendouspressure.The term ‘Dissent’ cametoserveasthegenericdesignationforthosewhodid notagreethattheestablishedChurchofEnglandshouldenjoyamonopoly overEnglishreligiouslife.Someofthesects suchastheRanters,Muggletonians,andFifthMonarchists soonfadedaway.Others,especiallyIndependents/Congregationalists,Baptists,andQuakerssurvived.Crucially,they werenowjoinedoutsidetheestablishedchurchbythePresbyterians,ejected fromthelivingsin1660–62.AlthoughPresbyterianscontinuedtoattend parishworshipandworkforcomprehensionwithinthenationalchurch, theywere(asRichardBaxternoted)forcedintoaseparatingshape,meeting inillegalconventicles.In1689,Parliamentconfirmedtheseparationbetween Churchand ‘Dissent’ byrejectingacomprehensionbillandpassingthe so-calledActofToleration.Thedenominationsofwhatbecameknownas ‘OldDissent’—Presbyterians,Congregationalists,Baptists,andQuakers now enjoyedlegally-protectedfreedomofworship,evenastheirmembersrememberedbeingsecond-classcitizens,excludedfrompublicofficeunlessthey receivedAnglicancommunion.
Overthecourseoftheseventeenthcentury,alloftheseDissentingmovementshadestablishedapresenceintheBritishcoloniesofNorthAmerica. (Theybecame ‘British’ andnotjust ‘English’ coloniesin1707,aftertheUnion ofEnglandandScotlandthatcreated ‘GreatBritain’.)IntheNewWorldbegan whathasbecomeacontinuoushistoryofEnglishDissentadaptingtoconditionsoutsideofEngland.Inthisinstance,CongregationalistsinNewEngland
setupasystemthatlookedanawfullotlikeachurchestablishment,evenas theycontinuedtodissentfromtheAnglicanismthatintheoryprevailed whereverBritishsettlementextended.
ComplexityinthehistoryofDissentonlyexpandedintheeighteenth centurywiththeemergenceofMethodism.Thisreformingmovementwithin theChurchofEnglandbecame ‘NewDissent’ attheendofthecenturywhenit separatedfromAnglicanorganizationaljurisdiction.InAmerica,thatseparationtookplaceearlierthaninEnglandwhentheAmericanWarofIndependenceruledoutanykindofofficialauthorityfromtheestablishedchurch acrosstheseainthenewnation.
InthegreatexpansionoftheBritishEmpireduringthelateeighteenthand throughoutthenineteenthcentury,AnglophoneDissentmovedouteven fartherandevolvedevenfurther.Canada,Australia,NewZealand,South Africa,andotherimperialoutpostsinAfricaandAsiausuallyenjoyedthe serviceofAnglicanmissionariesandlocalsupporters.Buteverywherethat EmpirewentsoalsowentDissentingProtestants.ThecreationoftheBaptist MissionarySociety(1792)andtheLondonMissionarySociety(1795)(which wasdominatedbyCongregationalists)inauguratedadramaticsurgeofoverseasmissions.NowhereintheEmpiredidtheChurchofEnglandenjoythe samerangeofprivilegesthatitretainedinthemothercountry.
Meanwhile,backinEngland,stillmorenewmovementsaddedtothe ProtestantpanoplylinkedtoDissent.LiberalizingtrendsinbothAnglican andPresbyteriantheologyinthelatereighteenthcenturysawtheemergence oftheUnitariansasaseparatedenomination.Conservativetrendsproduced the(so-calledPlymouth)BrethrenwhoreplicatedtheearlierDissentingpatternbyoriginatingasaprotestagainstthenineteenth-centuryChurchof England aswellaslamentingthedivisionsinChristianityandlongingto restorethepurityoftheNewTestamentchurch.TheSalvationArmy(with rootsintheMethodistandHolinessmovement)wasestablishedinresponseto thechallengesofurbanmission.
Evenfurthercomplexityappearedduringthetwentiethandtwenty-first centurieswhenPentecostalmovementsarose,usuallywithanobviousMethodist lineage,especiallyasdevelopedbytheHolinesstraditionwithinMethodism, butalsosometimeswithalineagetraceabletorepresentativesof ‘OldDissent’ as well.Historicallyconsidered,PentecostalsaregrandchildrenofDissentviaa Methodist-Holinessparentage.
Whether ‘New’ or ‘Old’—ordescendedfrom ‘New’ or ‘Old’—allofthese traditionshavenowbecomeglobal.Someareevendominantinvarious countriesorregionsintheirpartsoftheglobe.TotakeUnitedStateshistory asanexample,intheeighteenthcenturyCongregationalismdominated Massachusetts.Bytheearlynineteenthcentury,Methodismwasthelargest ChristiantraditioninAmerica.Today,thelargestProtestantdenominationin theUnitedStatesistheSouthernBaptistConvention.OrwithCanadaas
anotherexample,AnglicansremainedstrongerthandidEpiscopaliansinthe UnitedStates,butMethodistsandPresbyteriansoftentookonestablishmentlikecharacteristicsinregionswheretheirnumbersequalledorexceededthe Anglicans.Indifferentwaysandthroughdifferentpatternsofdescent,these NorthAmericantraditionstracetheirrootstoEnglishDissent.Thesameis trueinparallelfashionandwithdifferentresultsinmanypartsofAfrica,Asia, LatinAmerica,andelsewhere,wherePentecostalismisusuallythedominant styleofProtestantism.
THEFIVEVOLUMESOFTHISSERIES
The five-volume OxfordHistoryofDissentingProtestantTraditions isgovernedbyamotifofmigration(‘out-of-England’,asitwere),butintwosenses oftheterm.It firsttracesorganizedchurchtraditionsthataroseinEnglandas Dissentersdistancedthemselvesfromastatechurchdefinedbydiocesan episcopacy,theBookofCommonPrayer,theThirty-NineArticles,and royalsupremacy,butthenfollowsthosetraditionsastheyspreadbeyond England andalsotracesnewertraditionsthatemergeddownstreamin otherpartsoftheworldfromearlierformsofDissent.Second,itdoesthe sameforthedoctrines,churchpractices,stancestowardstateandsociety, attitudestowardScripture,andcharacteristicpatternsoforganizationthatalso originatedinearlierEnglishDissent,butthathaveoftendefinedatrajectoryof influenceindependentecclesiasticalorganizations.Perhapsthemostnotable occasionwhenamajorworld figurepointedtosuchaninfluencecamein1775 whenEdmundBurkeaddressedtheBritishParliamentintheearlydaysofthe Americanrevolt.Whileopposingindependenceforthecolonies,Burkeyet calledforsensitivitybecause,heasserted,thecolonistswere ‘protestants;and ofthatkind,whichisthemostadversetoallsubmissionofmindandopinion’ . ThenBurkewentontosaythat ‘thisaversenessinthedissentingchurches fromallthatlookslikeabsolutegovernment’ wasabasicrealityofcolonial history.OtherclaimshavebeenalmostasstronginassociatingDissenterswith thepracticeoffreetrade,themediatingstructuresofnon-stateorganization, creativityinscientificresearch,andmore.
Thisserieswascommissionedtocomplementthe five-volume Oxford HistoryofAnglicanism.Intheintroductiontothatseries,theGeneralEditor, RowanStrong,engagedinconsiderablehandwringingaboutthedifficultiesof makingcoherent,defensibleeditorialdecisions,beginningwiththequestion ofhow fittingtheterm ‘Anglicanism’ wasfortheseriestitle.Ifsuchangstis neededforAnglicanism,thosewhosemindscravetidinessshouldabandon allhopebeforeenteringhere.Beginningagainwithjustthetitle, ‘Dissenting’ isatermthatobviouslyvarieswidelyintermsofitsconnotationsand
applicability,dependingontheparticulartime,place,andtradition.Insome cases,ithasbeenusedasaself-identifier.Inmanyothercases,groupswhom historiansmightlegitimatelyregardasdescendantsofDissent finditirrelevant,incoherent,orjustplainwrong.Anexamplementionedearliersuggests someofthecomplexity.IncolonialMassachusetts, ‘Dissenting’ Congregationalistsineffectsetupanestablishedchurchsupportedbytaxesand exercisingsubstantialcontroloverpubliclife.Inthatcircumstance, ‘Dissent’ obviouslymeantsomethingdifferentthanitdidfortheirfellowIndependents leftbehindinEngland.Nevertheless,MassachusettsCongregationalismisstill oneofthetraditionsout-of-Englandthatwehavedecidedtotrackwherever itwent evenintothecourthouseandthecapitolbuilding.Muchlaterandfar, faraway,MethodisminthePacificIslandofFijiwouldalsotakeonsome establishmentarianfeatures,whichagainsuggeststhat ‘Dissent’ pointstoa historyoraffinitiessharedtoagreaterorlesserextent,butnottoanunchangingessence.Indeed,becauseDissentisdefinedinrelationtoEstablishment,it isarelativeterm.
AnotherparticularlyanomalouscaseisPresbyterianism,whichhasbeena DissentingtraditioninEnglandbutastatechurchinScotlandandelsewhere. Whenoneexaminesitinotherpartsoftheworld,asophisticatedanalysisis required forexample,intheUnitedStatesandCanada(wherePresbyterianismwasonceaforcetobereckonedwith)andinSouthKorea(whereitstillis). InthesecountriesoneencountersatraditionoriginallyfosteredbymissionariesandemigrantswithbothDissentingandestablishmentarianroots.By includingPresbyteriansinthesevolumes,wecommunicateanintentionto consider ‘Dissent’ broadlyconstrued.
Othertermsmighthavebeenchosenforthetitle,suchas ‘Nonconformist’ or ‘FreeChurches’.Yettheysufferfromthesamedifficulty thatallgroups thatmightinhistoricalviewbelinkedunderanyonetermwillincludemany whoneverusedthetermforthemselvesorwhodonotacknowledgethe historicalconnection.Yet ‘DissentingStudies’ isarecognizedand flourishing fieldofacademicstudies,focusedonthehistoryofthoseProtestantmovementsthatcoalescedasDissentingdenominationsintheseventeenthcentury andontheNewDissentthataroseoutsidetheestablishedchurchinthe eighteenthandnineteenthcenturies.
Still,theproblemof fittingterminologytohistoricalrealityremains.The fartheringeographicalspacethatonemovesfromEnglandandthenearerin timethatonecomestothepresent,thelessrelevantanyofthepossibleterms becomesfortheindividualsandProtestanttraditionsunderconsideration. ProtestantsinChinaorIndia,forexample,generallydonotthinkoftheirfaith as ‘Dissenting’ atall atleastnotinanywaythatdirectlyrelatestohowthat wordfunctionedforUnitariansinnineteenth-centuryEngland.Eveninthe West,astrongsenseofdenominationalidentityorheritagehasbeenwaning duetoincreasingindividualismandhybridization.Suchdifficultiesare
inevitableforagenealogywheretrunksandbranchesoutlineacommon historyofprotestagainstchurchestablishment,butverylittleelsebesides broadlyProtestantconvictions.
The fivevolumesinthisseries,aswellastheindividualchapterstreating differentregions,periods,andemphases,admittedlybraveintellectualanomaliesandhistoricalinconsistencies.Onedefenceissimplytopleadthatuntidiness inthevolumesreflectsrealityitselfratherthaneditorialconfusion.Churchand Dissent,AnglicanismandNonconformity,weredefinedbytheirrelationship, andthewallbetweenthemwasaporousone;whileitcanbehelpfultothinkit termsoftightlydefinedecclesiasticalblocs,therealityoflivedreligionoften defiedneatlinesofdemarcation.Manyeighteenth-andnineteenth-century AnglicansreadPuritanworks,whilemanyDissentersimbibedtheworksof greatAnglicans.Besides,aneditorialplanthatputapremiumontidinesswould impoverishreadersbyleavingoutexcitingandimportantevents,traditions, personalities,andorganizationsthatdofall,howeverremotelyorobscurely,into thebroaderhistoryofEnglishProtestantDissent.
Whichbringsustothesecond,moresignificantjustificationforthis fivevolumeseries.Onofferisnothinglessthanafeast.NottheleastofBritain’ s contributionstoworldhistoryhasbeenitsmultifacetedimpactonreligious life,thought,andpractice.Inparticular,thisonecornerofChristendomhas provenunusuallyfertileforthegerminationofnewformsofChristianity. ThoseformshaveenrichedBritishhistory,whiledoingevenmoretoenrichall ofworldhistoryinthelastfourcenturies.Byconcentratingonlyonthehistory ofDissent,thesevolumesnonethelessilluminatetheextraordinarycontributionsofsomeofthegreatestpreachers,missionaries,theologians,pastors, organizations,writers,self-sacrificingaltruistsand(yes,also)someofthemost scandalous,self-defeating,andegotisticalepisodesintheentirehistoryof Christianity.Takeninitsbroadestdimensions,thisseriesopensthestoryof largethemesandnewwaysofthinkingthathaveprofoundlyshapedour globe ontherelationshipsbetweenchurchandstate,onthesuccessesand failuresofvoluntaryorganization,onfaithandsocialaction,ontolerationand religiousandcivilfreedom,oninnovationsinworship,hymnody,literature, thearts,andmuchelse.Itisastoryoftraditionsthathavesignificantly influencedEurope,NorthAmerica,LatinAmerica,Africa,Asia,thePacific Islands,andeventheMiddleEast(forexample,thefoundingofwhatisnow theAmericanUniversityofBeirut).Especiallythetwovolumesonthetwentiethcenturyoffertreatmentsofvibrant,growingformsofChristianityin variouspartsoftheworldthatoftenhavenotyetreceivedthescholarly attentiontheydeserve.All fivevolumespresenttheworkofaccomplished scholarswithwidelyrecognizedexpertiseintheirchosensubjects.Inspecificallythematicchapters,authorsaddressissuesofgreatcurrentinterest, includinggender,preaching,missions,socialaction,politics,literaryculture, theology,theBible,worship,congregationallife,ministerialtraining,new
technologies,andmuchmore.Thegeographical,chronological,andecclesiasticalreachisbroad:fromtheElizabethaneratothedawnofthetwentiethfirstcentury,fromCongregationaliststoPentecostals,fromCapeCodtoCape Town,fromChinatoChile,fromIrvingiteapostlesinnineteenth-century LondontoAfricanapostlesintwenty-first-centuryNigeria.Justasexpansive istherosterofDissentersordescendantsofDissent:fromJohnBunyanto MartinLutherKing,Jr.,fromprisoner-reformerElizabethFrytomegamega-churchpastorYonggiCho,fromprincesofthepulpittoeducational innovators,frompoetstopoliticians,fromliturgicalreformerstosocial reformers.Howeverimprecisethecategoryof ‘Dissent’ mustremain,the volumesinthisseriesareguaranteedtodelightreadersbythewealthof theirinsightintoBritishhistoryintheseventeenthandeighteenthcenturies, bywhattheyrevealaboutthesurprisingreachofDissentaroundtheworldin laterperiods,andbytheextraordinaryrangeofpositiveeffectsandinfluences flowingfromafamilyofChristianbelieversthatbeganwithanegativeprotest.
Introduction
DissentingTraditionsinGlobalizedSettings
MarkP.HutchinsonandCandyGuntherBrown
On firstblush,itmightappearthatthetwentiethcenturyopenedwiththe victoryofDissent/dissent,andclosedwithitsirrelevance.WhiletheTestActs wererepealedin1828,itwasnotuntilthe1850sthatdissentersandnonconformistscouldmatriculateorgraduatefromthegreatBritishUniversities,and Divinityfellowshipsandprofessorshipsremainedoutofreachuntiltheuniversitystatuteswerechangedin1913.ThelongrearguardactionofAnglican establishmentinBritain,conflatedwiththeIrishquestionamidthepassions swirlingaroundthedisestablishmentoftheChurchofIreland(undertheIrish ChurchAct,1869),meantthatthepresumptionofAnglicanclassestablishmentlingeredlonginBritain.(Somewouldsuggestthatitlingersstill.)This waslessuniformelsewhereintheanglophoneworld.Despiteeffectivedisestablishmentinthe1830sand1840sinCanadaandAustralia,therewerestill echoesoftheinteractionofclass,race,andreligionuntiltheearly1960s.In bothcountries,partoftheresolutionofissuessurroundingnationalrepresentation,globalecumenicity,andrelationshipswiththeindigenouspeoplesofthe land(s),resultedintheformationofnationalecumenicalchurcheswhich absorbedmuchoftheirformerdissentingconstituencies.IntheUSA, ‘ race ’ remainedakeydistinguishingissue(indeeddoessothroughtothepresent), andsheersizeandcontinuinginter-regionaldistinctionsinclassandtradition continuedtoseparateBaptistsfromPresbyterians,MethodistsfromCongregationalists.Whattheyhadincommonwasthefactthatthemeaningsof ‘dissent’ werealreadyfadingrapidlyinthenineteenthcenturyinsuchregions of plural religioussettlement.Inresponsetoacorrespondentaskingin1889 ‘WhatisaNonconformist?’,forinstance,theeditoroftheLaunceston Daily Telegraph hadtoreverttoadictionaryfortheanswer.¹Thepracticeofreferring ¹ DailyTelegraph Thursday,13June1889,p.3.
2 MarkP.HutchinsonandCandyGuntherBrown
toallnon-Anglicansalikeas ‘nonconformists’ wasstillcommonenoughinthe 1940s,however,toensureacontinued ‘twitchy-ness’ amongminorityprotestantgroups.InAustralia,wheretheAnglicanChurchstillimporteditsbishops fromBritain,PresbyterianssuchasE.L.SladeMallen,Presbyterianministerof Wallsend,NSW,repeatedin1943thewordsoftheirfounder(JohnDunmore Lang)ofacenturyormorebefore:
ThereisnoStateChurchinthiscountry,andthereforenoNonconformist churches.Allareonthesamelevel.Itmaybeinterestingtosomeofyourreaders toknowthatEpiscopaliansofEngland,whengoingtoScotland,are ‘Nonconformists.’ HisMajestytheKingbecomesaConformist aPresbyterian.
NodoubtD.C.Williams[theauthortowhomhewasresponding]doesnotmean thewordtoconveyanyinferiorityofthese ‘Nonconformist’ churches,butsome dosouseit.ItwasstrangetomethatArchbishopMowll[thenAnglican ArchibishopofSydney]didnotapparentlyapproachthese ‘Nonconformist’ churchesregardingthejointstatement.Myopinionisthatthestatementisfar tooconservativeandanxioustopreservethe statusquo.Itisaverytameand timidaffair.²
Itwasaproblemoflanguage,whichstillcarriedtheclassistpresumptionsof the ‘oldcountry’.Mallen’sappealtolaw,democratictemperament,andthe needforreformwastypicalofthelong-runningdissentingcampaignto establisheducationandmoreequablesocialsolutions,rootoutprivilege, andestablishequity.Theywouldbemoresuccessfulthantheythought. Dissentinggroups,withtheiremphasesonlibertyofconscienceandthe centralityofthetext(asanecclesiologicalaswellasanartefactualreality) readilyabsorbed ‘thehistoricisthermeneutic’³asawayofsidesteppingthe needtodefinebiblicalauthoritybymeansofcreedal,canonical,orpapal definition.Asaconsequence,D/dissentersbecamecentralto both theliberal andtheconservativecampswhichdividedovertheriseofrationalism,secularism,andtheirinroadsintotheauthenticity/authorityoftheBible.
TherealityforProtestantD/dissentingmovementsinthetwentiethcentury wasdominatedbycontendingandoftenconfusingglobalshiftsineconomics, politics,andculture.IntheWest,dissentinggroupscouldn’tpredicttherapid dissolutionoftheirself-definitionagainsttheestablishedchurcheswiththe concurrentdissolutionofthemoregeneric ‘Christiancountry’ compactunder thepressureofwar,massmigration,consumerism,and(inparticular)therise ofthebureaucraticwelfarestateswhichwereemergingintoanglobalized inter-nationalsystem.⁴ In ‘thegreatexception’ (theUnitedStates),disestablishmenthadbeenafactsincetheRevolution,thoughitsprogresstooklonger
² NewcastleMorningHeraldandMiners’ Advocate Friday,16July1943,p.3.
³MichaelJ.Lee, TheErosionofBiblicalCertainty (NewYork,2013),p.173.
⁴ NatalieSabanadze, GlobalizationandNationalism:TheCasesofGeorgiaandtheBasque Country (BudapestandNewYork,2010),pp.10–11.
toworkoutinthevariouscommonwealths.Itenteredthetwentiethcentury stridingtheworldstageasahugeentrepôtofdissentingtraditions,the energiesandresourcesofwhichwouldcontinuetohaveasignificantimpact onthearcofDissent/dissentthroughtherestoftheperiod.Thequestionfor Westerncitizensoftheearlytwentiethcenturywas ‘whatdiddissentmean whentherewasnoformalestablishment?’ Bytheendofthecentury,ithad become, ‘whatdiddissentmeanwhentherewasno “establishment” except bureaucratizedsecularrationalism’?TrendsinAmericanreligiousaffiliation (asreportedbythePewResearchCenter)reflectedthisfactintheincreased polarizationofAmericans,withthedisappearanceoftheliberalmiddle,some weaknessamongyoungergenerations,a ‘modestdropinoverallratesofbelief andpractice’,andconsistentlystrongaffiliationsamongthosewhoconsidered themselvesreligious.⁵ Votingpatternsduringthe2016presidentialcampaigns fuelledthesedivisions,withpost-mortemsoverthe ‘Trumpmiracle’ making apparentthevastdisconnectbetweenthesecularmedia,liberalpoliticians, andthe26percentoftheAmericanvotingpubliccomposedofwhite evangelicals.⁶ Elsewhere,the ‘establishment’ againstwhichProtestant ‘dissent’ defineditselfcouldrangefromsinglepartynationstates(China,theUSSRup toitscollapsein1989,Cuba,Iraq,andthelike)tofundamentalisttheocracies (fromtheIslamicrevolutioninIranin1979,andincreasinglyIndia,SriLanka, SaudiArabia,andSudan,amongothers)todysfunctionalformalstatesdominatedbyeconomicandclasselites.Theproliferationofthe numbers (ofmembers,denominations,andorganizations)andtypes(ofpolitical, cultural,andeconomicdriversandexpressions)associatedwiththeOldand NewDissents,andtheirsuccessors,isnowtoolargetocapturereadilyina singlevolume.Forthisreason,thetypeof ‘dissent’ isroughlyindicatedbythe usage: ‘Dissent’ inthisvolumereferstooneoftheformalOldorNewDissents toemergefromEurope(capitalizedwhenreferringtopropernouns,andlower casewhenspeakingoftherelatedmovements),while(D)issentreferstoan organizedsuccessororinnovativealternativenotnecessarilydirectlyattached tothesepredecessormovements,and(d)issenttoaglobalizedpopularmovementortendencywhichmayormaynothaveaformalorganizationalidentity. Asimilarprotocolrelatestotheuseof ‘nonconformist/(N)onconformist’ throughoutthetext.
IfthecitizensoftheWestcouldnot,by1900,escape ‘thehabitofmind whichistheresultofinductive thatis,ofscientific reasoning’ , ⁷ by2000it wasclearthat ‘theauditsociety’ wasmakingescapefromstatistbureaucratic
⁵‘U.S.PublicBecomingLessReligious’,PewResearchCenter,http://www.pewforum.org/ 2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/,accessed17.10.2017.
⁶ MyriamRenaud, ‘MythsDebunked:WhyDidWhiteEvangelicalChristiansVotefor Trump?’,MartinMartyCenter,UniversityofChicago,https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/ myths-debunked-why-did-white-evangelical-christians-vote-trump,accessed17.10.2017.
⁷ R.J.Campbell, CityTempleSermons (NewYork,1903),p.10.
4 MarkP.HutchinsonandCandyGuntherBrown
reductionismequallyimpossible.Ifmodernity,asBradGregoryhasclaimed,is ‘anextraordinarilycomplex,tangledproductofrejections,retentionsand transformationsofmedievalWesternChristianity’ , ⁸ thenonemightequally saythatthehighmodern/postmodernformofmodernitywasequallya complex,tangledproductofrejections,retentions,andtransformationsof thedissentingrejectionofestablishment.The ‘freedom’ ofthetwentieth century,whichbyitsendincludedpersonalfreedom from religionandfrom thetraditionalbases(atleastintheburgeoningcitiesoftheWest)for interpersonalandprofessionaltrust,wasinpartatwistedreception/rejection ofthenonconformist/dissentingvision.Thepromulgatorsofthe1890swould, bythe1990s,perhapshavehadmixedfeelingsabouttheirlegacy.
Asshallbeseen,thesupportthatdissentingtraditionsgavetosecular pluralismasasolutionto(originallyAnglican)establishmentwasanimportantdeparturepoint.Dissentbytheendofthetwentiethcenturywasnot actually irrelevant,merelyinvisible.ItssuccessinestablishingwhatBerger callsthe ‘hereticalimperative’⁹ removedthepointofdifferencebywhich dissentcouldbedistinguishedagainstthebackgroundofperpetualsocial change.Withthisinmind,itishelpfultodefinesomekeytermsastheyare usedinthisvolume. ‘Modernity’ is,amongothersusedhere,acontestedterm. Itsentanglementwithideological modernism and secularism hasproven contentiousamongpostcolonialandotherscholars.Thetwentiethcentury is,parexcellence,theglobalcentury,andglobalizationensuredthatwherever ‘modernity’ felltoearth,itwouldtakeondifferentforms.AsOluponanotes, ‘modernity’ istypifiedbydiversity,bothforpracticalandformethodological reasons: ‘Secularization,globalizationandtheexpansionof “dominant” world religionsaffectindigenouspeoplesthroughouttheworld.’ Toproposea consolidated,homogeneousmodernity,therefore,istoimposeuponsuch peoplesthewaysthattheycanrespondandstillbeconsidered ‘modern’ as opposedto ‘primitive’.¹⁰ Theterm’sglibassociationswiththesecularizationof ProtestantChristianity(largelyrelevant inEuropeansettlersocieties),humanism (somethingwhichdoesnotapplyinthesameway,forinstance,inJapan),the prominenceofscientificthought(andsoapresumed ‘increasedrationality’),¹¹ (neo)colonialismandthelike,cometoindicateasmuchabouttheprecommitmentsoftheobserverastheydoabouttheactualitybeingobserved.Theworldin whichdissentingProtestantismemergedinthetwentiethcenturywasthusone
⁸ BradGregory, TheUnintendedReformation:HowaReligiousRevolutionSecularized Society (Cambridge,2012),p.2.
⁹ Discussedmostfamouslyinhis TheHereticalImperative:ContemporaryPossibilitiesof ReligiousAffirmation (LondonandNewYork,1980).
¹⁰‘Introduction’,JacobK.Olupona,ed., BeyondPrimitivism:IndigenousReligiousTraditions andModernity (London,2003),p.2.
¹¹MarkElvin, ‘AWorkingDefinitionof “Modernity”?’ , Past&Present 113(November1986), p.209.
Introduction:DissentingTraditionsinGlobalizedSettings
whichmovedfromtheapparentdominanceofasinglemodeofmodernity (typifiedby ‘theCartesianexchangeoftruthforcertainty’),toasurprising(to some)deprivatizationofreligionandmultiplemodernities,inwhichtherewas ‘thecontinuedresilienceofwebsofbelief,pre-predicativelinguisticstructures andpractices,thatmustbetakenoncreditbyourpropositionsiftheyareto makesense’.¹²
Oneleadingattemptat ‘makingsense’ ofthesuddenre-emergenceofthe religiousintoworldaffairshasbeenintheworkofthelatePeterBerger. Berger’ s five-categorymodel(whereinModernityinvolvesprocessesof abstraction, futurity, individualization, liberation,and secularization)ishelpful. Thetendencytotheologize(andsoabstract)aboutthefaithinvolved,inmany cases,aseparationbetween ‘intellecting’ indissentingtraditionsandtheir originatingspiritualities.Theusefulnessandformof ‘intellecting’ alsorelates totheinstitutionalbasesforknowledgeworkavailabletoeachculture. ‘Abstraction’ ismoreofatendencyinhighlydevelopedinstitutionalsettings thaninothers,somethingwhichpartiallyexplainsthedifferentialsuccessof varioustypesofdissentingmovementasthesehavescatteredaroundthe world.Commonamongbothliberalizingandconservingtendenciesinthose traditionswasasetofjustificationsrotatingaround ‘ifnotthis,then... ’ statements.Liberalfuturismwasdrivenalternativelybythefearoflossof relevanceinarapidlychangingsociety(‘ifwedon’tchange,wewilldie’),and byareadyimbibingofmodernistteleologies(‘thefutureisbetterthanthe past’)basedonafaithinbasic ‘humannature’.Thiswasthesortoffaithwhich recognizedthatmomentsofgreatnationalturmoil suchastheSecond WorldWar alsoproducedaseachangeinthewaythatpeoplereceived spiritualsolutions.AsMatthewHedstromhasnotedinhisaccountoftherise of ‘LiberalReligion’ intheUSA,the1950scommencedwiththeprofound sufferingofwar,andendedwithwidespreaddisillusionmentastothecapacity oftraditionalreligiousforms(whichhadbeencapturedbythe ‘idolatryofthe suburbanmiddleclass’)torespondtothehumancondition.¹³
Bywayofcontrast,conservativedissentingfuturism(whennottruncated byexpectationsoftheimminentreturnofJesus)wasconfidentaboutthe comingofthepostmillennialKingdom,towardswhichonecouldworkeffectively.Bothtraditionshadaformofindividualism amongscholars,witha sortofhumanistconfidenceinthemind,oramongotherbelieversin ‘God’ s specialplanformylife’.Thesanctifiedmindcouldliberate,ascouldthe graciousactionoftheSpiritofChrist.Andasaresult,(d)issentingChristians intoandthroughmuchofthetwentiethcenturywereproperlyambivalent
¹²MiguelVatter, ‘Introduction:CreditingGodwithSovereignty’,inM.Vatter,ed., Crediting God:SovereigntyandReligionintheAgeofGlobalCapitalism (NewYork,2011),p.2.
¹³MatthewHedstrom,TheRiseofLiberalReligion:BookCultureandAmericanSpiritualityin theTwentiethCentury (NewYork,2013),pp.172–3.
