22:
418:, Welsh Nonconformity was imbued with hypocrisy and double standards, especially as the increasingly respectable ethos of a middle class composed of professionals, shopkeepers and "respectable" working men dominated the leadership of the chapels. Women were very largely sidelined and denied any positions of responsibility, even though they comprised the majority of the congregations. Denominationalism, based on rivalries between neighbouring chapels, was often rampant and could be seen at its worst in local elections to bodies such as
263:, the chapels spoke largely as one in their opposition to the social and political dominance of the clergy and landed gentry, particularly in rural areas. The relative absence of these influences in the industrial valleys made Nonconformity even more powerful, especially given that many of the leading coal owners of the late 19th century were Welsh-speaking Nonconformists. It has been said that the chapels "formed almost a kind of unofficial established religion".
251:
The wealthier and more established farm owners and the middle class spoke
English. But the rapid industrializing and growth of coal and iron brought many poor farmers out of agriculture into much better paying industrial jobs, thus providing a better financial base for the Nonconformists. Local rates (taxes) funded the Anglican churches.
255:
differences between the denominations, such as the
Baptists' insistence on total immersion, these were less significant by the later 19th century than previously. In political terms, especially after the more conservative Calvinistic Methodists became more involved in political activity in the wake of the 1847
250:
were the largest denomination, was strongly connected to the Welsh language, though not exclusively so. Anglicanism, in turn, was often associated with the
English language and landed gentry. The growth in Welsh political radicalism in the 19th century was closely tied to the surge of Nonconformism.
221:
Nevertheless, by the 1880s, Nonconformity was approaching its golden age. Chapel buildings were increasingly grandiose, in contrast to the austerity of the earlier meeting houses of the revivalist period. Professional architects were engaged to design elaborate structures, especially in larger towns
206:
elite which dominated public life. The ministers also had considerable influence within working class networks which, in part, reflected their own social origins. The
Religious Census of 1851 showed that 80% of those who attended a place of worship on Census Sunday in Wales were Nonconformists, even
378:
in Wales and was again essentially a
Nonconformist and Welsh-language phenomenon. It is believed that at least 100,000 were involved in the 1904–1905 revival, but historians generally regard it as the last great outpouring of a nonconformist movement that then went into gradual decline, a process
254:
By the 1880s, over 350,000 men and women were officially members of one of the four main
Nonconformist denominations, and there were also larger numbers of "adherents" who attended services and other chapel-based activities but were not officially recorded as members. While there were some
425:
But in other ways
Nonconformity could be seen as having a positive impact. It was from the chapels that the great wave of popular political engagement in Wales erupted from the 1860s onwards, and nonconformist ministers played an important role in the success of the
467:, worked as a miner. Their style was essentially populist, and they enjoyed a spontaneous relationship with their congregations, not only in delivering fiery and often fundamentalist sermons on Sundays but also in popular lectures on figures such as
450:
The influence of nonconformist ministers on Welsh society was significant. There were many hundreds of ministers in Wales by the late 19th century, and many of them came from an unprivileged background. For example,
207:
though the large proportion of the population, even in Wales, who were not recorded in the census, suggested that the influence of religion within society was far more tenuous than first appearances suggested.
256:
97:
in Wales, partly as a reaction to the neglect generally felt in Wales at the hands of absentee bishops and clergy. For two generations from the 1730s onwards the main
Methodist leaders such as
422:. There were even divisions within denominations, and many of the numerous chapels built in the generation before the First World War resulted from a schism in the mother church.
391:
Historians have debated the influence of
Nonconformity upon Welsh society. From one perspective there was an inherently conservative aspect to Welsh Nonconformity in particular.
434:, though some of these traditions predated the ascendency of Nonconformity. Nonconformity was also central to various developments in education, from the post-1870
159:
Starting in rural areas and small market towns, the 19th century was the golden age of Welsh nonconformity. Some small settlements, such as
475:. They also had a profound influence on the Welsh-language press, not only through their own denominational journals but also more widely.
117:. Methodists in Wales gradually built up their own networks, structures, and meeting houses (or chapels), which led, at the instigation of
271:
The
Calvinistic Methodists were the largest of the denominations in numerical terms. Their greatest strength was in rural Wales, notably
198:, Nonconformity grew alongside industry and by the 1880s these towns were regarded as "citadels of dissent", with their ministers and
760:
460:
404:
109:
remained within the Church of England, but the Welsh revival differed from the Methodist revival in England in that its theology was
712:
147:– who in turn also experienced growth and renewal. As a result, by the middle of the 19th century, Wales was predominantly a
260:
399:
as its high water mark. The influence of this Act persisted in some parts of Wales until the very late 20th century, with
634:
63.04 (2012): 693–720. New estimates of the religious composition of the population in 1680, 1720, 1760, 1800 and 1840.
435:
419:
656:
607:
456:
65:
43:
36:
452:
396:
734:
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and Sardis, grew around a chapel or meeting house and were named after it. Some of these settlements, such as
639:
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in Wales. The chapels also became the mainstay of various community activities, such as choral festivals and
148:
129:
630:
Field, Clive D. "Counting Religion in England and Wales: The Long Eighteenth Century, c. 1680 – c. 1840."
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in some counties staying closed on Sundays. This reflected a close interaction between Nonconformity and
371:
296:
106:
438:, which in Wales were largely influenced by the chapels, to the first Welsh university established at
182:
as migrants from the rural counties brought their religious affiliations with them. In places such as
726:
599:
102:
144:
30:
90:
86:
319:
Baptist strength was more concentrated, primarily in Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire, but also in
47:
667:
484:
411:, and "taking the pledge" to abstain from alcohol became a formative part of chapel culture.
126:
641:
Capeli yng Nghyrmu: Cadwraeth a Thrawsnewid / Chapels in Wales: Conservation and Conversion
89:
of the 18th century was one of the most significant religious and social movements in the
8:
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592:
472:
427:
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587:
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94:
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276:
175:
160:
392:
280:
215:
183:
178:, nonconformity became firmly established in the new industrial settlements of
118:
331:
The Wesleyans were not particularly strong in Wales and were more anglicised.
135:
The 18th-century revival also influenced the older nonconformist churches, or
754:
415:
408:
320:
211:
164:
98:
700:
Jones, J. Gwynfor. "Reflections on the religious revival in Wales 1904–05."
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Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales
695:
The Elect Methodists: Calvinistic Methodism in England and Wales, 1735–1811
339:
203:
709:
The Span of the Cross: Christian Religion and Society in Wales, 1914–2000
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300:
223:
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114:
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231:
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238:, as well as in the developing townships of the industrial valleys.
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and eventually affected most of Wales. It was primarily, however, a
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In the nineteenth century, Welsh nonconformity, within which the
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phenomenon, and its influence was, in the main, a transient one.
210:
In 1859 there was another popular revival, which began in north
743:
Randall, Ian. "Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Methodist Spirituality."
507:"Welsh Calvinistic Methodism (or Presbyterian Church of Wales)"
199:
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in West Wales and also in small pockets in Glamorgan, such as
195:
82:
648:
459:, began life as a domestic servant, while his contemporary
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513:. DMBI: A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland
670:[The Twentieth Century in Southern Ceredigion]
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542:
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Journal of the United Reformed Church History Society
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Religion in the Industrial Revolution of South Wales
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537:
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295:The Congregationalists, usually referred to as the
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386:
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299:in the Welsh context, were especially strong in
174:In the era of rapid industrialisation after the
487:, the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales
125:of 1811 and the formal establishment of the
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365:
266:
85:from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The
66:Learn how and when to remove this message
693:Jones, David Ceri, and Eryn Mant White.
323:on both sides of the linguistic divide.
29:This article includes a list of general
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558:
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668:"Yr Ugeinfed Ganrif yn Ne Ceredigion"
594:Rebirth of a Nation. Wales 1880–1980
242:Nonconformist denominations in Wales
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723:Wales in British Politics 1868–1922
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202:having a powerful role among a new
13:
711:(University of Wales Press, 1999)
697:(University of Wales Press, 2012).
627:(University of Wales Press, 1965).
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81:was a major religious movement in
35:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
772:
647:(in Welsh and English). Cardiff:
632:Journal of Ecclesiastical History
761:History of Christianity in Wales
395:was taken to extremes, with the
20:
580:
397:Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881
387:Nonconformity and Welsh society
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154:
93:. The revival began within the
690:(National Museum Wales, 1996).
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1:
747:5 (2013): 97–122. (1899-1981)
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745:Wesley and Methodist Studies
666:Jenkins, J. Geraint (2000).
414:To some, such as the writer
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171:, became large settlements.
130:Presbyterian Church of Wales
7:
478:
314:
107:William Williams Pantycelyn
10:
777:
727:University of Wales Press
638:Hilling, John B. (1999).
600:University of Wales Press
623:Davies, Ebnezer Thomas.
505:Vickers, John A. (ed.).
446:Nonconformist ministers
372:1904–1905 Welsh Revival
366:1904–1905 Welsh Revival
91:modern history of Wales
87:Welsh Methodist revival
50:more precise citations.
267:Calvinistic Methodists
485:Welsh Church Act 1914
261:1868 General Election
127:Calvinistic Methodist
704:7#7 (2005): 427–445.
405:temperance movements
352:Quaker congregations
707:Morgan, D. Densil.
379:exacerbated by the
350:. There were small
335:Other denominations
719:Morgan, Kenneth O.
588:Morgan, Kenneth O.
457:Calfaria, Aberdare
342:flourished in the
145:Congregationalists
573:, pp. 16–17.
169:Bethesda, Gwynedd
95:Church of England
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581:Bibliography
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515:. Retrieved
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453:Thomas Price
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432:eisteddfodau
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407:such as the
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344:Teifi Valley
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297:Independents
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291:Independents
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204:middle class
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155:19th century
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113:rather than
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56:January 2021
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725:. Cardiff:
676:Traethodydd
598:. Cardiff:
571:Morgan 1982
559:Morgan 1982
547:Morgan 1982
532:Morgan 1982
511:dmbi.online
461:David Price
440:Aberystwyth
301:south Wales
224:Aberystwyth
180:South Wales
48:introducing
736:0708311245
492:References
340:Unitarians
285:Ceredigion
248:Methodists
232:Carmarthen
228:Caernarfon
137:dissenters
31:references
517:9 October
473:Garibaldi
442:in 1872.
327:Wesleyans
309:Glamorgan
151:country.
132:in 1823.
123:secession
121:, to the
111:Calvinist
755:Category
721:(1991).
590:(1982).
479:See also
348:Aberdare
315:Baptists
273:Anglesey
259:and the
222:such as
192:Llanelli
188:Aberdare
143:and the
141:Baptists
115:Arminian
376:revival
360:Swansea
356:Cardiff
236:Swansea
200:deacons
44:improve
733:
713:online
655:
606:
161:Carmel
139:– the
33:, but
672:(PDF)
645:(PDF)
196:Neath
83:Wales
731:ISBN
653:ISBN
649:CADW
604:ISBN
519:2021
471:and
370:The
358:and
307:and
283:and
234:and
194:and
165:Nebo
105:and
680:CLV
463:of
455:of
354:in
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