Methodists

Growing out of the ideas and proselytizing of John Wesley and others in the 18th Century, Methodism began as a reform movement within the Anglican Church before becoming independent. An evangelical denomination, Methodist adherents actively seek new members and encourage interactions with the public sphere. This derives from their belief in Arminianism, which argues that all people, not just a select group, are entitled to God's grace. These beliefs fostered a new style of preaching popularized by George Whitefield, known as revivals or camp meetings, which typically occurred outdoors and emphasized emotional resonance more than the more theologically-minded services of traditional Christians. The movement was enormously successful in the United States and gave rise to the reform movements of the 19th century and the development of several sub-denominations. Methodism was also one of the denominations in the United States that fractured into Northern and Southern factions in the decades prior to 1861 as a result of rising sectional tensions related to slavery. Some scholars believe schisms within American religious denominations such as Methodism both reflected and amplified sectionalism in the years preceding the Civil War.

Russell E. Richey, Kenneth E. Rowe, and Jean Miller Schimdt, American Methodism: A Compact History (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2010, 2012), 1-107; David Hempton, Methodism: Spirit of Empire (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005), 1-178; C. C. Goen, “Broken Churches, Broken Nation: Regional Religion and North-South Alienation in Antebellum America,” Church History 52 (March 1983), 21, 30, 32; William Benham, ed., The Dictionary of Religion (New York: Cassell, 1887), 693; Richard Carwardine, "Methodists, Politics, and the Coming of the American Civil War," Church History 69 (September 2000), 594-99.