Wesley is one of the leading characters of the XVIII century. He is not to be confused with the other intellectuals who influenced their times, I mean he is no thinker of the Enlightenment. His field of research is quite different because he is the father of Methodism. He was born an Anglican, and Anglican he remained until it was the established Church to throw him out. In fact his initial sermon he would deliver inside the churches. When his preaches in the church were prevented, he started to preach outside, and this is when his listeners and followers swelled greatly in numbers.

Wesley came from an Anglican family. His mother was a very rigid woman who strictly controlled her children. Her aim being ‘to break the child’s will’, every week she compelled them to analyze the state of their souls openly. This and other teachings Wesley imported in Methodism. The road to salvation had to be trodden every day, working hard, and conducting a frugal life.

The social importance of Wesley’s thought is in the fact that he addressed the poor, where the official established Anglican Church was lacking. The poor where the most exposed to the storms engendered by the Industrial Revolution, Wesley told them that they had to suffer and go through a hard life of toil and prayers, but that that was the only way to seek and earn one’s own salvation. So he gave them an aim, a consolation, and resignation.