The British Zion

Congregationalism, Politics, and Empire, 1790-1850

Michael A. Rutz

• Publisher: Baylor University Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781602582057
• eBook ISBN: 9781602584761
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Christianity

Drawing upon extensive archival research and a wide range of secondary sources, The British Zion traces congregationalist missionaries' involvement in domestic and colonial politics in early nineteenth-century Britain. As Michael A. Rutz ably demonstrates, evangelical nonconformists actively campaigned from both the Empire's metropolitan centers and its periphery to extend religious liberty and civil equality in Britain, open colonial territories to evangelization, abolish slavery, and secure civil rights for indigenous peoples. Moving beyond the dichotomizing pictures of evangelical missionaries as either the advance forces of colonial domination or innocuous humanitarians and educators, Rutz carefully examines the humanitarian and theological impulses of the missionary movement while critically examining its political, social, and cultural impact within the larger development of the British Empire.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page, Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. The Evangelical Revival and the Origins of the Missionary Movement
• 2. Itinerancy, Religious Liberty, and the Rise of Evangelical Politics
• 3. The Missionary Movement and the Politics of Abolition
• 4. Missionary Politics in Britain and the Cape Colony
• 5. Church, State, and Dissenting Politics in the Age of Reform
• 6. Church, Race, and Conflict in the Cape Missions
• Epilogue
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index