‘To Reform the World’

Abstract Religious antislavery attitudes and thoughts on abolitionism are well-known among transatlantic Evangelical figures such as William Wilberforce, John Wesley, and many Quakers associated with the Religious Society of Friends. However, among the lesser-known voices in Great Britain at the time were Particular Baptists, or Baptists who were of the Calvinistic theology. Among these Particular Baptists was Abraham Booth who wrote Commerce in the human species, and the enslaving of innocent persons, inimical to the laws of Moses, and the Gospel of Christ (1792). As dissenters, Baptists were allowed to worship as they desired since the Toleration Act of 1689 but were still barred from holding civil offices. By not having proper representation in British Parliament, Baptists could not directly bring any legal change to their government regarding the institution of slavery, nor the slave trade enterprise. Therefore, through the avenues of preaching and publication, Baptists sought to influence the minds of Christians to end slavery. They drew upon socio-religious ethics as a means to convince the public of a national sin. This article demonstrates how Booth used benevolence as a basis for moral ethics in his case for abolitionism. Both slavery as an institution and the slave trade were contrary to the gospel message and stunted evangelism among unconverted peoples. Particular Baptists tied abolitionism to the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. Therefore, abolitionism became an expression of ethical practice for Christians. As Abraham Booth’s thought demonstrates, Particular Baptist abolitionism was both rooted in deep theological conviction and outwardly expressed as disinterested benevolence toward their neighbor.