ABSTRACT
The Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century revolutionised the Protestantism of Britain. Beginning in the 1730s, the revival sprang up in England, Wales, Scotland, and the British colonies of North America. The Church of England contained a significant Evangelical sector. George Whitefield, though eager to help other denominations, was a clergyman of the established church and many of his converts remained within its ranks. The Evangelicals of all parties were conscious of an affinity that transcended other boundaries, whether national, denominational, or theological. One of the leading features that Evangelicals in general shared with the British Enlightenment was moderation. While the continental Enlightenment, especially in France, had a radical wing, its expression in Britain tended to deplore fierce polemic and extreme positions. The adaptability of the Evangelicals was given a theological rationale in the doctrine of “means.” Protestants of an earlier day had been content to let divine sovereignty run its course without human interference.
