Methodism

====Great Britain====
{{further|Methodist Church of Great Britain}}
{{See also|Organisation of the Methodist Church of Great Britain}}
The original body founded as a result of Wesley's work came to be known as the [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist Church]]. [[Schism]]s within the original church, and independent [[revival meeting|revivals]], led to the formation of a number of separate denominations calling themselves "Methodist". The largest of these were the [[Primitive Methodism in the United Kingdom|Primitive Methodists]], deriving from a revival at [[Mow Cop]] in [[Staffordshire]], the [[Bible Christian Church|Bible Christians]], and the [[Methodist New Connexion]]. The original church adopted the name "Wesleyan Methodist" to distinguish it from these bodies. In 1907, a union of smaller groups with the Methodist New Connexion and Bible Christian Church brought about the [[United Methodist Church (Great Britain)|United Methodist Church]]; then the three major streams of British Methodism [[Methodist Union|united in 1932]] to form the present [[Methodist Church of Great Britain]].<ref name="DoU">{{cite web|title=Deed of Union|url=http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/633296/cpd-vol-2-0912.pdf|work=The Constitutional Practice and Discipline of the Methodist Church|publisher=The Methodist Church in Britain|access-date=5 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107104512/http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/633296/cpd-vol-2-0912.pdf|archive-date=7 November 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The fourth-largest denomination in the country, the Methodist Church of Great Britain has about 202,000 members in 4,650 congregations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Methodism in Numbers – Statistics at a Glance|url=http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/1771003/Methodism_in_Numbers_2015.pdf|website=methodist.org.uk|publisher=The Methodist Conference|access-date=23 December 2015|date=July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223190349/http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/1771003/Methodism_in_Numbers_2015.pdf|archive-date=23 December 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[File:Wesley's Chapel.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wesley's Chapel]] in [[London]] was established by John Wesley, whose statue stands in the courtyard.]]
Early Methodism was particularly prominent in [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]], which were key centers of activity by the [[Bible Christian Church|Bible Christian]] faction of Methodists.<ref>{{cite book |author=Workman |first=H. B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQsl-dV2HUEC&pg=PA97 |title=Methodism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1107626584 |page=97}}</ref> The Bible Christians produced many preachers, and sent many missionaries to Australia.<ref>{{cite book|last1=O'Brien|first1=Glen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAmrCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62|title=Methodism in Australia: A History|last2=Carey|first2=Hilary M.|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=978-1317097099|page=62|author-link2=Hilary Carey}}</ref> Methodism also grew rapidly in the old mill towns of [[Yorkshire]] and [[Lancashire]], where the preachers stressed that the working classes were equal to the upper classes in the eyes of God.<ref>S. J. D. Green, ''Religion in the Age of Decline: Organisation and Experience in Industrial Yorkshire, 1870–1920'' (1996).</ref> In Wales, three elements separately welcomed Methodism: Welsh-speaking, English-speaking, and [[Calvinistic Methodism|Calvinistic]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Yrigoyen Jr |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JE6vAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA502 |title=T&T Clark Companion to Methodism |publisher=A&C Black |year=2010 |isbn=978-0567290779 |page=502}}</ref>

British Methodists, in particular the Primitive Methodists, took a leading role in the [[Temperance movement in the United Kingdom|temperance movement]] of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Methodists saw alcoholic beverages, and alcoholism, as the root of many social ills and tried to persuade people to abstain from these.<ref>{{cite web |title=Temperance |url=https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=2704 |work=A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland |access-date=24 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Field |first1=Cive D. |date=2000 |title='The Devil in Solution': How temperate were the Methodists? |journal=Epworth Review |volume=27 |pages=78–93}}</ref> Temperance appealed strongly to the Methodist doctrines of sanctification and perfection. To this day, alcohol remains banned in Methodist premises, however this restriction no longer applies to domestic occasions in private homes (i.e. the minister may have a drink at home in the [[manse]]).<ref name=alcohol>{{cite web|title=Alcohol|url=http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/views-of-the-church/alcohol|work=Views of the Church|publisher=The Methodist Church in Britain|access-date=20 April 2013}}</ref> The choice to consume alcohol is now a personal decision for any member.<ref name=alcohol />

[[File:2017 Methodist Central Hall.jpg|thumb|upright|The Central Hall in Westminster, London]]
British Methodism does not have [[Bishops in Methodism|bishops]]; however, it has always been characterised by a strong central organisation, the [[Connexionalism|Connexion]], which holds an annual Conference (the church retains the 18th-century spelling ''connexion'' for many purposes). The Connexion is divided into Districts in the charge of the chairperson (who may be male or female). Methodist districts often correspond approximately, in geographical terms, to counties{{snd}}as do Church of England [[diocese]]s. The districts are divided into [[Methodist Circuit|circuits]] governed by the Circuit Meeting and led and administrated principally by a superintendent minister. [[Religious minister|Ministers]] are appointed to Circuits rather than to individual churches, although some large inner-city churches, known as "central halls", are designated as circuits in themselves{{snd}}of these [[Westminster Central Hall]], opposite [[Westminster Abbey]] in central London, is the best known. Most circuits have fewer ministers than churches, and the majority of services are led by lay [[local preacher]]s, or by supernumerary ministers (ministers who have retired, called supernumerary because they are not counted for official purposes in the numbers of ministers for the circuit in which they are listed). The superintendent and other ministers are assisted in the leadership and administration of the Circuit by circuit stewards – laypeople with particular skills who, who with the ministers, collectively form what is normally known as the Circuit Leadership Team.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The Methodist Council also helps to run a number of schools, including two [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]]s in [[East Anglia]]: [[Culford School]] and [[the Leys School]]. The council promotes an all round education with a strong Christian [[ethos]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Schools|url=https://www.methodistschools.org.uk/find-a-school/schools|website=www.methodistschools.org.uk|publisher=Methodist Schools|access-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129080731/https://www.methodistschools.org.uk/find-a-school/schools|archive-date=29 January 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Other Methodist denominations in Britain include: the [[Free Methodist Church]], the [[Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches]], the [[Church of the Nazarene]], and [[The Salvation Army]], all of which are Methodist churches aligned with the [[holiness movement]], as well as the [[Wesleyan Reform Union]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thewru.com/ |title=Wesleyan Reform Union of Churches |publisher=Thewru.com |access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref> an early secession from the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and the [[Independent Methodist Connexion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imcgb.org.uk/|title=Welcome to IMCGB – Home page|access-date=15 September 2014}}</ref>