Hugh Price Hughes: Late Victorian nonconformity and the Kingdom of God

Hugh Price Hughes was a Welsh Methodist minister who revolutionized Victorian Methodism through his "Forward Movement" and the West London Mission. He was important because he helped to modernize and socialize Nonconformity and brought the forces of holiness to bear on the political process by encouraging an activist faith. The use of The Methodist Times and his sermons demonstrate his message that Christianity and power politics were compatible. However, there were inconsistencies in his vision, as he tried to combine socialism and "liberal imperialism," duty and political activism. Evaluations of his sermons reveal his extreme idealism which was fast becoming problematic by the late Victorian, early Edwardian period. Hughes epitomized the transitional nature of his time and place. Despite his noble effort to modernize Christian belief, his vision of a Christian world order was politically paternalistic and out of touch with burgeoning democracy.