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thodox Dissenters greatly exceed their opponents; but the congregations of the latter usually contain a larger proportion of persons of wealth and refinement it is to be observed, how ever, that these do not abound in the congregations of either party. In zeal for their respective tenets they may be considered as pretty equally inatched, as they are in providing active means for their diffusion; but they differ in the degree of importance which they attach to them. The orthodox are very generally agreed in consigning over their adversaries to endless perdition, on account of their misbelief; whilst the innocency of mental error is as strenuously contended for by the other party. Bigotry is a vice of little minds, and to be found more or less in all parties. Education does much to soften its asperity, but an intercourse with the world does more; and those whose minds are liberalized by philosophy feel the least of its influence. Although there is nothing in nature more truly contemptible, yet there are few vices, perhaps, that so generally predominate amongst the professors of religion.

In an inquiry of this nature, it might very naturally be expected that the writer should enter into some farther particulars respecting the present character and condition of the different Dissenting parties. But, besides the length to which these pages have extended, there are other reasons which would induce him to be very brief upon this subject. In forming opinions of religious sects, there is always danger of being warped by prejudice, a disease from which the most moderate cannot always escape. Every one who identifies himself with a party, must feel a partiality for it to a certain extent, and a corresponding distaste to its opponents. This will be more particularly the case when the mind is undisciplined, or thrown off its guard, or when the passions become heated by enthusiasm. But, under the influence of happier circumstances, it is next to impossible to speak without offence. It is very true, that, consistently with that decided attachment which every person must and ought to feel for the convictions of his own mind, it by no means follows that there is any necessity for misrepresenting either the

opinions or the conduct of our opponents, who must be judged by the same test as ourselves, and may, perhaps, have an equal chance of being in the right. In the course of my experience, I have found persons of all parties who discourse upon religious topics with as much confidence as if they were capable of a mathematical demonstration; and, in accordance with this feeling, they expect their opinions to be received as impli citly as if they were not as much a matter of inquiry to others as to themselves. This spirit of dogmatism is as injurious to truth, as it is offensive to good sense, and repugnant to those kindly feelings which it is the interest of every one to cherish. There is one Being alone to whom we must render an account of the use or abuse of our talents, and we have no authority to usurp his judgment-seat. If we would gain an erring brother, we must treat him neither with hatred nor reproach, nor hunt him from society: this would only convert him into an enemy, and confirm him in his error. But we must shew our regard for his welfare by acts of kindness; and, in short, encourage the same feelings towards him which we would wish to excite in others towards ourselves, under similar circumstances. Man is a dependent creature, and this reciprocity of action is as much a matter of personal interest as it is of duty.

Upon looking into the state of parties, the first thing that strikes us is the disappearance of the Presbyterian denomination, which was formerly the glory of Nonconformity, and has now nearly vanished amongst English Dissenters. This result may be traced to various causes, but chiefly perhaps to the doctrinal differences that took place in the early part of the last century. At that time, many learned and reflecting men, chiefly amongst the Presbyterian Dissenters, thought they saw sufficient ground for departing from the standard of reputed orthodoxy, not only as it respected the tenets of Calvinism, but also upon the doctrine of the Trinity. Some of these embraced the Arian hypothesis, others the Sabellian, and many at length became (in the epithet once in vogue) Socinians. The divines who contributed most effectually to the diffusion

of these opinions were, Lardner, Benson, Taylor, of Norwich, Bourn, of Birmingham, Cardale, Price and Priestley. The popular favour being on the side of the orthodox, the preachers of the then new opinions soon grew unpopular, their congregations declined, and several of them at length became extinct. At the same time, the orthodox Dissenters, owing to a variety of other causes, had been rapidly declining, until the preaching of the Methodosts threw new life and vigour into the cause. It is a remarkable circumstance, that the heterodox Dissenters should have experienced a revival from a similar quarter. The secession of Mr. Lindsey and some other clergymen from the Established Church, about half a century ago, gave rise to the establishment of a new sect, composed of persons of various opinions in ecclesiastical matters, but uniting in the rejection of the popular belief concerning the Trinity. With these, the Presbyterian Dissenters gradually united, and they adopted a new name, expressive of a prominent article of their faith, by which they are now usually distinguished.

The orthodox Pædobaptist Dissenters having become amalgamated, in a great measure, with the Calvinistic Methodists, partake very much of the same character; and it may be remarked generally concerning the union, that whilst it has raised the standard of Methodism, it has proportionably depressed that of Independency. The discipline of the latter is now but little regarded in many congregations, and in others, the very name is become extinct. As they have several academies for training young men to the ministry, many of their pastors are taken from thence; but these resources are far from being sufficient to supply the continual demand. Many of their ministers, therefore, are without education, but having acquired a talent for mystifying religion, and for familiarizing it with the multitude, they become popular. Most of the congregations thus situated may be considered direct Antinomians. The Baptists, owing to the nature of their distinguishing tenet, have continued a separate body, and are probably more numerous now than at any former period; at least since the Revolution. They comprise per

sons of every shade of religious opinion, but the reputedly orthodox greatly preponderate, and of these also, many are Antinomians.

Besides the parties just mentioned, there is a very large class of persons who take the benefit of the Act of Toleration, and worship in licensed chapels, but who have no other pretension to the title of Dissenters. The motives that bring together these heterogeneous masses are of the most miscellaneous kind. Some are attracted by a favourite preacher; others by convenience of neighbourhood; but the prevailing motive appears to be a preference for what is called evangelical preaching, administered in a more familiar and popular manner than is to be found in the generality of parish churches. In many of these places, which are large and handsomely fitted up, the worship is conducted agreeably to the liturgy and ceremonies of the Church of England; and in many of them the service is performed by episcopally ordained clergymen. There are not a few of these places that have been built by needy adventurers, and solely with a view to profit. In such cases, the first object has been to procure popular preachers, in order to raise large congregations, and by means of pew-rents to provide an income for the speculator. The effect of the system has been greatly to multiply the number of religious professors, who have thrown their weight into the scale of the orthodox party, and have given a kind of fashionable popularity to the profession of religion. Its aspect upon the Church of England may be considered as rather favourable than otherwise, and will probably continue so as long as the Act of Toleration shall remain untouched. If there is any principle which these seceders hold in common with the Dissenters, it is one in which they are themselves equally interested, viz. a liberty of preaching, and a liberty of hearing without any restraint by the state.

By the efforts of the non-descript persons just referred to, united with those of the regular Dissenters, the Wesleian Methodists, and the various societies set on foot for the dissemination of religion, the number of places registered for religious worship during the last 30 years, is so prodigious as to give an imposing effect to the cause

of Dissent and to raise a considerable alarm within the bosom of the National Church. The consequence has been, that the clergy in some places have put forth more zeal and industry; whilst others, less prudent and less enlightened, have betrayed symptoms of that intolerance which always attaches itself to a richly-endowed and lordly hierarchy. Their apprehensions, how ever, may be stayed; for the tolerated sects are too much disunited both in principle and in affection to admit of any coalition for the purpose of procuring the downfal of the Established Church. Whenever such an event may take place, it will be the work of society at large.

From the foregoing remarks, it may be inferred that a reference to the number of edifices devoted to religious worship, and to the crowded congregations that attend them, will afford but little clue to the real state of the Dissenting interest. If we extract from the general mass those who conscientiously dissent from the doctrines, discipline or constitution of the Church of England, the number of such persons will probably be found much smaller than is generally apprehended; probably much more so than at the period of the Revolution. If the question be viewed with reference to the increased population of the country, the gain has been decidedly in favour of the Church of England. But the declension of Nonconformity has been most visible in the quality of its adherents, it having been deserted by almost every family of rank or influence in society. It is true, that in cities and large manufacturing towns the cause is still supported by a few opulent merchants and tradesmen, and here and there by a professional man; but it is undeniable that dissenting congregations are generally composed of persons in humble life, and this is almost wholly the case in small towns and villages.

It has been often remarked as a subject of regret, that when Dissenters grow rich or succeed to an inheritance, they commonly go over to the Church. To whatever cause it may be owing, it is certainly a curious fact, that a wealthy dissenting family is but rarely known to continue stedfast in the principles of Nonconformity for more than two generations. Singular, how

ever, as this may appear, and injurious as it is to the prosperity of the Dissenting interest, a little acquaintance with mankind will furnish us with sufficient reasons to account for it. Here, let it be remembered, that Dissenters are made of the same sort of materials as other people, and that there is nothing so peculiar in the nature of their principles as to detach them from the rest of society, or to prevent them from taking that station in it which the accidents of life may have assigned to them. When Dissenters acquire property, their intercourse with the world most usually becomes enlarged. If they have children, they feel a laudable desire to introduce them into society, and they naturally select that class of it which is best adapted to their improvement. Having received an ornamental as well as a useful education, they find but few associates to their taste in dissenting congregations, and are soon disgusted by the familiarity and rudeness of lowbred persons, who presume upon their supposed spiritual attainments. This aversion is farther strengthened by the unnecessary austerity assumed by many religious persons, especially when advanced in years; so that, upon the earliest opportunity they throw aside the fetters that restricted their youthful enjoyments. It being the fashion amongst wealthy persons_to train their children to learned professions, similar pursuits bring them in contact with persons belonging to the Establishment; and rising in life they are called to fill stations which are incompatible with the profession of dissent, or which, at any rate, render them unfit associates for the bulk of persons who compose dissenting congregations. Others are brought together by the concerns of business, which occasion the formation of private friendships; and the desire which people usually manifest to form alliances in the same station of life, only aggravates the evil.

A farther obstruction to the profession of Nonconformity may be referred to the qualifications of its teachers, to the mode of their teaching, and to the quality of the religion that is taught in many congregations. Upon a subject surrounded by so much combustible matter, I shall be very brief; but the importance which it bears upon

the inquiry will not allow of its being overlooked altogether. It must be acknowledged, that amongst the Dissenters are to be found some men of sterling talents, and every way qualified to be the expounders of religion. But it is equally notorious that these are thinly scattered, and confined chiefly to large cities; that many of their congregations are served by men as ignorant as their hearers; and that, of those who have been educated at their private academies, a large proportion come forth into the world with all the defects of half-learned pedants, raised into imaginary importance, which is fostered by the character of their people. It is a misfortune to the Dissenters, that their richer members but rarely bring up their sons to the ministry. The consequence is, that being taken from inferior stations, they are, in most cases, wholly dependent upon their people for support; and this is often very precarious. Whilst upon the subject of pecuniary compensation, it may not be amiss to observe that, with some few exceptions, the Dissenters have been deficient in that liberality to their ministers, to which the nature of their services, and the station which they occupy in society, so justly entitle them. And this may have been one reason that has deterred many from entering upon that profession, or from continuing in it, who would have been ornaments to the Dissenters.

Dissenting congregations, in most places, consisting chiefly of tradesmen, mechanics, and persons in humble life, the management of their temporal affairs consequently devolves upon them; and the dissensions that so frequently arise, may be often traced to this equality of condition between the governors and the governed. It is as unfortunate for the peace as for the respectability of Dissenters, that they have not a few persons of education and influence to take the lead in their congregations, and give a tone to the manners of the rest. Much discord would be thereby prevented; a greater degree of liberality would be thrown over their concerns; the pride of ignorance would be repressed; and much of the reproach that lies at the door of the professors of religion on account of their self-importance, would

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be rolled away. Ignorance is the parent both of pride and intolerance; and when clothed in the garb of piety, often passes current in the world for genuine Christianity. But when religion becomes thus debased, as the profession of it is in too many instances amongst Dissenters, we are not to wonder if they are shunned by persons of good taste and refined manners. Although death levels all distinction of ranks, and in the grave the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant, meet together; yet whilst we live in the world, we must submit to the laws by which it is governed, and consent to take the station marked out for us by Providence. The fences of society are not to be broken down by imagi nary notions of spiritual rank. Let religion be rather employed in the real amelioration of man in his present state, whilst we enlarge the boundaries of his hope in another world.

Another thing that operates to the disadvantage of the Dissenters is the mode of admission into their churches, which, amongst the orthodox, is well known to be through the door of an experience; that is, a recital of their opinions, feelings and religious impressions. This is either written or verbal, and is submitted to the judgment of the whole church at one of their private meetings. The candidate for membership has previously passed through the same ordeal at his own house, before the ministers and deacons, who report thereon to the church; and if they think him sound in the faith, or, as they express it, "in a state of grace," he is admitted. Now, if we consider upon what sort of hands the management of this business usually devolves, it must always operate as an exclusion to men of sense and education. For, admitting that religion is equally adapted to all classes of society, yet it may be fairly argued that the mode of administering it should be such as to give no unnecessary offence, either to good taste or to sound discretion. In the present state of society, and particularly of the Dissenters, it seems impolitic to require any farther terms for communion than those in which all Christians agree. By narrowing the conditions, we exclude many persons of worth and respectability, and compel them

to seek for religious instruction else where.

The decline of the Dissenting interest may be farther traced to the advancement of science and literature, which has rendered men indifferent to the forms of religion, and in some cases doubtful of its reality altogether. This disposition has been encouraged by the enthusiastic pretences which have been mixed up too much with the profession of Christianity, as well as by the little attention that has been paid by Dissenters in general to such subjects as are calculated to improve the intellectual and political condition of mankind. By neglecting to take advantage of the improvements of the age, and thus to render the profession of Nonconformity respectable in the world, they have been left with the dregs of society, whilst their enemies have carried away the palm of superiority.

But, perhaps, nothing tends more to the disparagement of the Dissenters than their political condition, the profession of Nonconformity rendering them liable to certain civil disabilities, from which the favoured sect is exempt. That they are usually identified with the opponents of government is not at all surprising, but it ought not to be charged upon them as a crime; for, setting aside reasons of conscience, it would be absurd to suppose they can entertain any kind feeling for a set of men who first trample upon their political rights, and then charge them with disaffection. The oppression to which they have been so long subject in this respect, has so far tinctured the prejudices of society, as to occasion an artificial circle to be drawn around them, excluding them very much from the intercourse of life with persons of a similar station in the Established Church. Having no political influence, they are an object of contempt with the government, any farther than they can become the instruments of its own purpose. It is to be lamented that the orthodox Dissenters have never been sufficiently alive to their political rights. The apathy they have discovered upon such subjects, from the ridiculous notion that they are to be occupied only by concerns of a religious nature, has tended to debase the quality, and

to sink the importance of their cause. If the profession of Nonconformity is destined again to flourish, it must be identified with civil liberty, and then the friends of the latter will be its firmest supporters.

A Dissenter, whatever may be his theological opinions, or however strongly he may feel the supreme importance of religion, is eminently a political character, being made so by the state. It is his duty, therefore, never to lose sight of his situation, nor to forego any fair opportunity for urging its amelioration. In order to inoculate society with just sentiments, he should frequently bring forward for discussion such topics as the injustice and impolicy of penal laws upon account of religion; the impropriety of connecting Christianity with the state, and thereby rendering it subservient to political purposes; the distinct objects of religion and of civil government; the irreligious tendency of test laws; the incongruity of a lordly hierarchy with the simplicity of a Christian church, to which it is an expensive incumbrance; the inutility, for purposes of instruction and pastoral inspection, of a system that patronizes pluralities and non-residences; the hypocrisy of educating men for a cure of souls, when the real purpose is to amass wealth, and to obtain political influence; the oppressive nature of tithes, and their injurious effect upon the clerical character; the absurd mixture of Jewish, Popish and Protestant worship in the English ritual; the sectarian nature and unchristian spirit of the publicly-authorized creeds; together with such other points as may suggest themselves, in order to shew the inefficacy of the present ecclesiastical system for the purposes for which it is so amply endowed.

The examples of Greece and Rome, and other ancient nations, have been cited as precedents to justify the civil patronage of religion, and the prosecution of opposite opinions. But, not to take notice of the impropriety of the parallel drawn between Pagan and Christian institutions, it would be difficult to shew any warrant for the thing in either case, beyond that of statepolicy. The existence of religion does not require it; for, supposing it to be of divine origin, and under the protec

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