Religious Revival

Abstract

In the first part of this book, we have seen the important contribution of women to the evangelical movement of ‘methodists’ in the late eighteenth century. While these female activists came from all classes, the majority were from the lower levels of society. By the time the various methodist churches had become organized, the women had lost their place in the leadership ranks and had mostly retired to teaching Sunday Schools, and other less influential roles. Only a few local evangelists continued to preach in the 1830s and 1840s. Consequently, when the enthusiasm of the Wesleyan revival had died down, the position of women in the churches did not appear to be fundamentally changed. In fact, there was some negative reaction towards women’s work in places where they formerly had official support. The Quakers, for instance, questioned the appropriateness of female leadership within their church and discouraged it.¹