Religious awakening of 1858-60 in Great Britain and Ireland

Abstract

Between the years 1857 and 1860, the countries on both sides of the Atlantic experienced a great religious awakening. In the opinion of many, competent to speak on the subject, it was easily the greatest revival the English-speaking countries had ever had. It began in America in the autumn of 1857, and rapidly spread, like a great tidal wave, to the West Indies; then leapt the Atlantic, touching even ships as it passed, and appeared in Northern Ireland. Almost at the same time, and in some places a little later, it made its appearance in Scotland, Wales, and England. Widespread awakenings of varied intensity and duration also took place in most other Protestant countries, such as Sweden, Norway, Germany, Holland, and even as far away as Australia and New Zealand. Revivals were also experienced among the Protestant communities in France, Belgium, and even India and Constantinople. There was, in fact, during those years a mysterious spiritual susceptibility abroad, showing itself in countries differing widely in creed and custom.

As far as Great Britain and Northern Ireland were concerned, every county, and almost every town and village, had revival tidings to report. Duncan Matheson, one of the outstanding leaders of the movement, who had traveled up and down the country during the years in question, said: "I have been wandering for nearly four years - north, south, east and west - and the Lord is doing great things everywhere." Other contemporary observers bare this out. In church, in school, in cottage meeting, on green lawns, in highland glens, on lonely moors, in shops, in theatres, on ships, and even in public-houses, men were often suddenly seized with a fear of God, a sense of eternal things, and belief in the efficacy of prayer. Marvellous answers to prayer were experienced, and unexpected and outstanding conversions took place. From every quarter of the country and every point in the compass of human society, men and women were gathered into the Church of Christ. It was the chief revival of the century among the masses.

The movement we are to trace was a very great deal more than a mere outward reform of conduct and manners. Under the power of the Spirit of God, new life and new faith were quickly translated into consecrated service, which multiplied and increased in every hand until it produced world-wide results. Fora perfect host of zealous, enthusiastic converts carried the message of Divine love and practical sympathy, not only into the dark abodes of human woe in the slums of our great cities, but also to the dark places of the Earth, which were full of the the habitation of cruelty.

The aim of this thesis, then, is to trace the salient features of this great religious awakening as it affected Great Britain and Ireland, and as it was seen by those who passed through it.

Though a number of pamphlets containing local news have been written by eyewitnesses, no general survey of the movement has so far been made.

My chief sources are indicated at the end of the thesis; they are, in the main, the biographies of those who happened to have played the chief role on the stage of religious history at that time; a host of periodicals, reports, newspapers, etc.

A word about the method.

CHAPTER ONE is meant to give a general and rough background of the religious situation in the country during the two or three decades preceding the awakening. The period dealt with saw many important developments, and it is, of course, impossible to touch on every important point in such a brief sketch. I am aware that much that should have been said has been left out, enough, however, has been said to indicate there was much to be desired in the religion of this country before the awakening of 1858-60.

CHAPTER TWO deals with some of the preparations of the awakening.

CHAPTERS THREE to SIX deal with the revival itself. The movement is surveyed geographically, this being the best way to indicate it s widespread nature. As it broke out simultaneously in different parts of Britain, and very often without any human agency to account for it, a chronological survey would have involved too much jumping about from one end of the country to the other. But though the geographical survey has been chosen, the instances given and the places mentioned represent only a cross-section of the country. To have written an exhaustive survey of the revival would have probably meant filling several volumes. I have also tried to describe the movement as much as possible as it appeared to those eyewitnesses who passed through it. There was much criticism of the revival, but that is treated in another chapter.

In CHAPTER SEVEN I have attempted a brief survey of the most important post-Reformation revivals in Great Britain, and these were compared and contrasted with the movement under consideration.

In the centre of the movement stood some very important people, and brief outlines of their careers are given in CHAPTER EIGHT.

The following CHAPTER deals with some unpleasant features of the revival - mainly physiological and pathological in nature, and the whole subject is surveyed from the psychological point of view.

CHAPTER TEN deals with some contemporary criticism of the awakening.

Some immediate and some more permanent results of the revival are dealt with in the next two CHAPTERS, and the thesis closes with some general remarks.