Benjamin Hoadly
modernLatitudinarianism1676 – 1761
Benjamin Hoadly (1676–1761) was an English Anglican bishop and Latitudinarian theologian best known for igniting the Bangorian Controversy with his 1717 sermon arguing that Christ's kingdom is not of this world and that no earthly church or clergy holds authority to judge conscience. His writings on ecclesiastical and civil authority were highly influential in early eighteenth-century debates over the relationship between church, state, and individual conscience. He rose through the episcopal ranks to become Bishop of Winchester, and his political theology influenced later liberal Protestant and constitutional thought.
Notable Achievements
1
Sparked the Bangorian Controversy (1717) by denying coercive authority to any visible church institution
2
Articulated an early intentionalist hermeneutic: religious and civil texts should be read according to the original legislator's abstract intent, not literal letter
3
Defended Whig constitutional principles and the legitimacy of the Glorious Revolution settlement
4
Advanced toleration through arguments that no human authority can bind individual conscience in matters of faith
5
Produced extensive polemical theology shaping eighteenth-century Anglican Latitudinarianism