The Free Methodist Church is a denomination of Methodism, which is a branch of Protestantism.[1] It was founded in 1860 in New York by a group, led by B. T. Roberts, who was defrocked in the Methodist Episcopal Church for criticisms of the spiritual laxness of the church hierarchy.[2] The Free Methodists are so named because they believed it was improper to charge for better seats in pews closer to the pulpit. They also opposed slavery and supported freedom for all slaves in the United States, while many Methodists in the South at that time did not actively oppose slavery. Beyond that, they advocated "freedom" from secret societies (e.g., Freemasons), which had allegedly undermined parts of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
- ^ "Free Methodist Church of North America | Protestantism". Britannica.com. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ Snyder, Howard A. (2006). Populist Saints: B T and Ellen Roberts and the First Free Methodists. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-2884-1.