The Bible Christian Church was a Christian vegetarian sect founded by William Cowherd in Salford, Lancashire, in 1809, after a split from the Swedenborgians. Its members followed a vegetarian diet and abstained from alcohol.
| Bible Christian Church | |
|---|---|
 William Cowherd, founder | |
| Classification | Christian vegetarian |
| Orientation | Swedenborgianism |
| Associations | Vegetarian Society |
| Founder | William Cowherd |
| Origin | 1809 Salford, Lancashire, England |
| Separated from | Swedenborgians |
| Merged into | Pendleton Unitarians |
| Defunct | 1932 |
| Other name | Cowherdites |
The church was associated with the early vegetarian movement in Britain. Members including Joseph Brotherton and James Simpson helped establish the Vegetarian Society in 1847. A group led by William Metcalfe and James Clark formed the Philadelphia Bible Christian Church in 1817, which became part of the early American vegetarian movement.
History
editSalford and Manchester Bible Christians
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William Cowherd founded the Bible Christian Church following a split from the Swedenborgians. Its first chapel was known as Christ Church and was located in King Street, Salford, Lancashire. The church later moved to new premises in Cross Lane. Further chapels were established in Hulme and Every Street, Ancoats.[1]
To join the church, members had to sign a pledge that committed them to a vegetarian diet and abstention from alcohol.[2] Followers of Cowherd's ideas were commonly known as Bible Christians or Cowherdites. Members of the church, including Joseph Brotherton and James Simpson, were involved in the founding of the Vegetarian Society in 1847.[3][4]
In 1816, Cowherd died and Joseph Brotherton was appointed his successor. Brotherton held the position for 40 years until his death in 1857.[5] He was succeeded by James Clark (1830–1905) in 1858, who served as pastor for nearly 50 years.[6]
By 1932, unable to attract enough vegetarian members, the English Bible Christians merged into the Pendleton Unitarians.[1]
Philadelphia Bible Christians
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The church's message was later preached in the United States, as 41 members under the leadership of the Reverend William Metcalfe and the Reverend James Clark[a] crossed the Atlantic in 1817 and formed the Philadelphia Bible Christian Church.[8] These members later provided a nucleus for the American vegetarian movement and the American Vegetarian Society.[9]
Beliefs
editBible Christians supported independence of mind and freedom of belief, stating that they did not presume "to exercise any dominion over the faith or conscience of men".[9] They believed in free will and had a Pelagian approach. They argued that religion, when properly understood, reveals the same truth to all men. There was no emphasis on original sin or conversion. Man was not saved by faith alone but by his actions and the value of his life as a whole. Vegetarianism formed part of this belief.[9] Cowherd is said to have stated: "...If God had meant us to eat meat, then it would have come to us in edible form 'as is the ripened fruit'".[3]
See also
editNotes
edit- ↑ Not to be confused with James Clark (1830–1905). Clark's surname was also spelled Clarke.[7]
References
edit- 1 2 Antrobus, Derek (1998). "History of Vegetarianism: Roots of Vegetarianism". International Vegetarian Union.
- ↑ Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret (2010). Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism. ISBN 978-0-313-37556-9.
- 1 2 "History of the Vegetarian Society". The Vegetarian Society. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- ↑ Gregory, James (2007). Of Victorians and Vegetarians. London: I.B. Tauris. pp. 30–35. ISBN 978-1-84511-379-7.
- ↑ "Joseph Brotherton, MP (1783 - 1857)". Weaste Cemetery Heritage Trail. Archived from the original on 29 April 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ↑ "History of Vegetarianism: The Bible Christian Church (1809-1930)". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ↑ Shprintzen, Adam D. (2013). "Chapter one: Proto-vegetarianism". The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817–1921. University of North Carolina Press. doi:10.5149/9781469608921_shprintzen.5. ISBN 978-1-4696-0891-4.
- ↑ The Maintenance Committee (1917). History of the Philadelphia Bible-Christian Church: From 1817 to 1917. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. pp. 25–26.
- 1 2 3 Twigg, Julia (Autumn 1981). "The Bible Christian Church". The Vegetarian Movement in England, 1847–1981: A Study in the Structure of Its Ideology (PhD thesis). International Vegetarian Union.
Further reading
edit- Axon, William E. A. (1909). A History of the Bible Christian Church, Salford: From 1809 to 1909. Manchester: S. Clarke.
- History of the Philadelphia Bible-Christian Church for the First Century of Its Existence: From 1817 to 1917. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1922.
- Twigg, Julia (Autumn 1981). "The Bible Christian Church". The Vegetarian Movement in England, 1847–1981: A Study in the Structure of Its Ideology (PhD thesis). International Vegetarian Union.
- Antrobus, Derek (1997). A Guiltless Feast: The Salford Bible Christian Church and the Rise of the Modern Vegetarian Movement. City of Salford Education and Leisure. ISBN 978-0-901952-57-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Gregory, James (2007). Of Victorians and Vegetarians. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-379-7.
- Millington, Karen (17 December 2012). "Vegetarian roots: The extraordinary tale of William Cowherd". BBC News.
External links
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Media related to Bible Christian Church at Wikimedia Commons
