TheBible Christian Church was aChristian vegetarian sect founded byWilliam Cowherd inSalford,Greater Manchester, in 1809, as a spilt from theSwedenborgians. Members of the church were committedvegetarians and the church was foundational in the formation of the British and American vegetarian movements.
William Cowherd founded the Bible Christian Church following a split from theSwedenborgians. Their first chapel was known as Christ Church and located in King Street,Salford,Greater Manchester. The church later moved to new premises in Cross Lane. Further chapels were also established inHulme and Every Street,Ancoats.[1]
To join the church, members had to sign a pledge that committed them to avegetarian diet andabstention from alcohol.[2] Followers of Cowherd's ideas were commonly known as Bible Christians or "Cowherdites". Members of the church includingJoseph Brotherton andJames Simpson were involved in the founding of theVegetarian Society in 1847.[3]
In 1816, Cowherd died and Joseph Brotherton was appointed his successor. Brotherton held the position for 40 years until his death in 1857.[4] He was succeeded byJames Clark (1830–1905) in 1858, who served as pastor for nearly 50 years.[5]
By 1932, unable to attract enough vegetarian members, the English Bible Christians merged into the PendletonUnitarians.[6]
The church's message was later preached in theUnited States, as about 40 members under the leadership of the ReverendWilliam Metcalfe and the Reverend James Clark[note 1] crossed theAtlantic in 1817 and formed thePhiladelphia Bible Christian Church.[8] These members subsequently provided a nucleus for the American vegetarian movement and, later, theAmerican Vegetarian Society.[9]
Bible Christians put great emphasis on independence of mind and freedom of belief, stating that they did not presume "to exercise any dominion over the faith or conscience of men." They believed infree will and had aPelagian approach.[9] They argued that religion when properly understood reveals the same truth to all men. There was no emphasis onoriginal sin orconversion. 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]
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