Protestant Nonconformists: Providers of Educational and Social Services

Abstract

Vail examines the impact of Protestant Nonconformity on English society in the twentieth century, with particular reference to working-class communities. He considers the reasons for the breakdown in the relationship between Protestant Nonconformists and political Liberalism. He then examines the continuing impact of Nonconformists on English working-class life, particularly through a range of auxiliary organisations providing educational and social services: including the Adult Schools, the Brotherhood Movement, and the Brigade Movements, as well as their involvement in early experiments in adult and further education. Finally, he gives a critical examination of the prevalent assumption of secularisation, and considers parallels between Protestant Nonconformists’ responses to late twentieth-century cutbacks in welfare provision and their earlier activities prior to the welfare state.