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The Theological Socialism of the Labour Church

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The Theological Socialism of the Labour Church ‘SO PECULIARLY ITS OWN’ THE THEOLOGICAL SOCIALISM OF THE LABOUR CHURCH by NEIL WHARRIER JOHNSON A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham May 2015 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The thesis argues that the most distinctive feature of the Labour Church was Theological Socialism. For its founder, John Trevor, Theological Socialism was the literal Religion of Socialism, a post-Christian prophecy announcing the dawn of a new utopian era explained in terms of the Kingdom of God on earth; for members of the Labour Church, who are referred to throughout the thesis as Theological Socialists, Theological Socialism was an inclusive message about God working through the Labour movement. By focussing on Theological Socialism the thesis challenges the historiography and reappraises the significance of the Labour Church. Theological Socialism is examined from different vantage points: the social and ideological setting of the Labour Church in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain; the events and concepts which shaped John Trevor’s religious and political thinking; the motivations and aspirations of the Theological Socialists who aligned themselves with the movement, arguing that they were a particular group within Ethical Socialism; and the issues and concerns of the Labour Church in Birmingham, a contextual study which refutes the commonly held understanding about the lifespan of the Labour Church as a movement. The thesis concludes highlighting a continuing theological imperative for the British Labour movement. DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to Emma, Anna and Naomi, for their love and understanding. In memory of Dick Ellis and Tommy Forsyth, two Christian Socialists who showed me The Way. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a great privilege for me to work with my supervisor, Professor Hugh McLeod. I wish to offer my grateful thanks to Hugh for sharing his knowledge and wisdom, and for the way that he has guided me through the years of research. Through the course of my research I have encountered several people who have personal involvement with the story of the Labour Church movement. I was very pleased to correspond with Robert Barnard, the great grandson of John Trevor the founder of the movement, who gave me access to his family archives. My thanks go to Sheila Adam, archivist of the Plantation Garden in Norwich, for putting me in touch with Robert. After many months of trying to trace the whereabouts of D. F. Summers, whose ground breaking research on the Labour Church has become a foundation stone to subsequent studies, I received a gracious letter from his wife, Margaret Summers of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Margaret explained that her husband had been badly injured in a car accident some years before and so was unable to communicate with me directly. She was pleased to know that the thesis she had typed up in the late 1950s was still being appreciated by researchers. I am grateful to Robin Brunelle and Barb Lough of the United Church of Canada for enabling my contact with Mrs Summers. A chance visit to a book shop in Ludlow led me to meet Tony Rees, the biographer of Frank Mathews who had been an influential member of the Birmingham Labour Church in the 1890s and the secretary of the congregation’s Cinderella Club. I felt honoured that Tony entrusted Frank Mathew’s personal notebooks to me before they were deposited at the Birmingham Central Archives. I have received much support and assistance from librarians and archivists working for universities, research centres, museums, and national and local libraries. My thanks go particularly to Fiona Tait of the Birmingham Central Archives located in the Birmingham Central Library, for her guidance and encouragement. Several historians specialising in the local history of Birmingham and the West Midlands offered me helpful advice as I researched the Labour Church in Birmingham. Thank you to Dr Malcolm Dick, Professor Ian Grosvenor, Professor Roger Ward and Dr Chris Upton. I was very pleased to spend time with George Barnsby, shortly before he died, and for our conversation about the varieties of Socialism. I am grateful to Professor Carl Chinn for printing my article about the Birmingham Labour Churches in his local history magazine Brummagem (March 2010), and for his interest in my work. During the past six years or so I have been helped along the way by many people, some of whom I list here: Annie Banham of the Birmingham Clarion Singers, Professor Chris Rowland, Andrew Bradstock, Dr Kevin Manton, Ina Taylor biographer of Edith Holden, Dr Mark Bevir, Dr Craig Fees of the Planned Environment Therapy Trust, Rev Dr Len Smith, Sue Killoran of the Harris Manchester College library, Barry Winter, Paul Salveson, Rev Dr David Steers of the Unitarian Historical Society, David Taylor and Janine Giordano Drake. Many thanks go to Dr Mike Snape and my fellow researchers, who have participated in the History of Religion Research Seminars at the University of Birmingham. They were companions on the road. To Professor Krista Cowman and Dr David Gange, I offer grateful thanks for their rigorous examination of this thesis, and the helpful advice as to how to shape its final form. I wish to record my gratitude to the trustees of the Methodist Central Mission, Birmingham, and their successors, for the initial encouragement to undertake further study and the financial support given to me throughout the period of the programme. Thank you to the wider Methodist family to which I belong. Thank you to my wife, Emma, and our friend Stephen Willey for reading through the thesis and helping me to see ‘the wood for the trees,’ once again. My family and friends have been a constant source of cheer to me during the years of my research, for that I will always be grateful. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION – “SO PECULIARLY ITS OWN” a. Labour Church – a reassessment ………………………………………………… 1 b. The Labour Question ...…………………………………………………………. 1 c. The Socialist Revival …………………………………………………………… 4 d. Faith in the New Social Life ……………………………………………..……… 6 e. Socialist Christians and Christian Socialists ……………………………...….… 9 f. The Labour Church ……………………………………………….………….….. 12 g. An overview of the Labour Church as a national and international movement … 14 h. A review of source materials …………………………………………………..… 18 i. The progression and structure of the thesis …………………………….………... 36 CHAPTER 1 – THE FOUNDER 1:1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 39 1:2. Making of a Disenchanted Evangelical ……………………………………….. 39 1:3. Seeking Free Religion …………………………………………………….….... 45 1:4. The Unfolding of a Utopian Vision ……………………………………………. 53 1.5. Prophet and Church of the Unfolding God ……………………………………. 62 1:6. Death of a Visionary ...………………………………………………………… 71 1:7. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….. 77 CHAPTER 2 – THEOLOGICAL SOCIALISM 2:1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………... 79 2:2. Founding Principles ………………………………………………………..…. 80 2:3. The message of official publications …………………………………………… 86 2:4. A post-Christian theology ………………………………………………………. 101 2:5. Theological Socialism in the post-Trevor Labour Church ……………………… 108 2:6. Late-Victorian Utopianism and the Labour Church ……………………………. 111 2:7. Conclusion ……………….……………………………………………...………. 115 CHAPTER 3 – THE THEOLOGICAL SOCIALISTS 3:1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 117 3:2. Theological Socialists – as envisaged …………………………………..……… 119 3:3. Theological Socialists – in practice ……………………………………………. 126 3:3(i). The Mentor ………………………………………………………….………. 128 3:3(ii). The Clarion Phenomenon ………………………………………………....... 135 3.3(iii). Creating an Independent Press …………………………………………... 139 3:3(iv). The Cinderella Clubs ………………………………………………….…... 145 3:3(v). Disillusioned Clerics ………………………………………………….…..... 146 3:3(vi). The Carpenter Circle …………………………………………………….... 149 3:3(vii). Leadership of the Labour Churches ……………………………………..... 153 3:3(viii). A Literary Canon …………………………………………………….…... 157 3:3(ix). The role of women activists …………………………………………….… 161 3:3(x). The I. L. P. ………………………………………………………….…….... 169 3:4. Theological Socialists – by conviction ……………………………………....... 174 3:5. Conclusion …………………………………………………………….……...... 183 CHAPTER 4 – THE LABOUR CHURCH IN BIRMINGHAM 4:1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 186 4:2. Nineteenth Century Birmingham ……………………………………………… 187 4:3. The First Birmingham Labour Church …………………………………….….. 194 4:4. The Cinderella and Clarion Cycling Clubs …………………………………… 226 4:5. The spread of Labour Churches across Birmingham ……………………….… 234 4:6. Aspects of post-1918 Birmingham Labour politics ……………………….….. 248 4:7. Analyses of the Birmingham Labour Churches …………………………….… 257 4:8. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 265 CONCLUSION – SO PECULIAR A MOVEMENT ……………………………..….. 268 APPENDIX 1 – A WRITTEN RECONSTRUCTION
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