Nonconformist and Dissenting Studies, 1650-1850

This site provides resources for students and scholars interested in British religious nonconformity, or what is more often termed “Religious Dissent,” 1650-1850.  Nonconformity emerged with considerable force (and diversity) in the first half of the 17th century, with three groups – Baptists, Presbyterians, and Independents (later called Congregationalists – establishing themselves as the primary denominations, although the Quakers would soon form a fourth group with substantial numbers by the second half of the century.  These nonconformists, or dissenters, worshiped outside the established Church of England. Though marked by considerable variations in church polity, dissenters nevertheless created a distinctive culture marked by an emphasis upon education, business, social and political reform, as well as an appreciation for literature and the arts. Dissenting congregations were established by church “covenants” and existed as “gathered communities” united by their adherence to scripture over church traditions, an individual faith rather than a historic creed, though doctrinal platforms were not uncommon among all three denominations. 

The purpose of Nonconformist and Dissenting Studies, 1650-1850 is to provide a searchable database of materials pertaining to religious nonconformist and dissent in England and America between 1650 and 1850. This site is a companion to my other two sites, Nonconformist and Dissenting Women’s Studies, 1650-1850, and Mary Hays: Life, Writings, and Correspondence. All three sites exist to provide an online resource for students, and general readers that will enable them, any where in the world, to explore men and women whose lives and writings shaped Dissenting culture during the long 18th century and beyond. The works contained on these sites encompass all the major genres of the period: letter-writing, diaries, spiritual autobiography, travel narratives, poetry, prose, polemical discourses, religious treatises, periodical prose, and even fiction. 

Timothy Whelan