Domestic Visitation: a Chapter in Early Nineteenth Century Evangelism

Abstract

Historians in recent years have shown considerable interest in the alienation from conventional church-going revealed by the Religious Census of 1851, as well as in the efforts of the churches to reach the masses in the second half of the nineteenth century. Less attention has been paid to special means of evangelism before 1850, the impression perhaps being given that despite awareness of the problem of the unchurched, the response to this was narrow and conventional—a matter simply of increasing and rationalising the traditional provision of churches, clergy and parish organisation or their Dissenting equivalents. It is true that Sunday Schools have been noted as devices for capturing and controlling the young; but little attention has been paid to what was probably the most characteristic device during the second quarter of the century for extending religious influences to adults outside the Church— the domestic visitation society. The purpose of the present paper is to attempt a limited inquiry into the circumstances in which these societies began; the different models they followed; and the purposes they pursued.

Social Work Home Visits to Children and Families in the UK: A Foucauldian Perspective

“…Charity of this kind was not an idle activity; on the contrary, it was believed that ‘doing good’ was necessary to secure a place in heaven ( Prochaska, 1980 ). While the extent of the influence of the church has been disputed ( Webb, 2007 ), it is the case that, by the eighteenth and into the nineteenth centuries, emerging in the context of industrialisation, urbanisation and concerns about the administration of the poor relief system, the home visit had become a common practice/activity associated with volunteers working under the auspices of visiting societies that were either linked directly to churches, or had religious affiliations ( Young and Ashton, 1956 ; Rack, 1973 ; Hewitt, 1998 ; Cree and Myers, 2008 ; Burnham, 2012 ). Underpinned by moral and spiritual principles as well as notions of benevolence and citizenship, the discourses associated with the home visit—the regulation of family functioning, the reform of individuals and the reinstatement the principle of self-help—were reflective of the influence of classical liberalism.…”

“…This, in turn, shaped what Foucault refers to as ‘discursive practices’ ( Foucault, 1980 , p. 93), namely the values and practices in and through which institutions and individuals operate. Rack (1973) and Hewitt (1998) have illustrated, for example, that the practice of the home visit relied on the presumption of ‘a right of access’, as opposed to the existence of a legally mandated and systematic framework to guide practice. However, while the focus of the visit was essentially the same—that is, to assess claims for help and connect families with local sources of support in order to build self-reliance and good character—there was great variety in individual practice.…”

“…However, while the focus of the visit was essentially the same—that is, to assess claims for help and connect families with local sources of support in order to build self-reliance and good character—there was great variety in individual practice. Some home visitors were noted as being uncompromising in their approach; it was not uncommon for them ‘to march into homes with the occupants still in bed, demand that they got up and appeared downstairs for censure or improvement, and refuse to leave until they had done so’ ( Rack, 1973 , p. 358). At the other extreme were those home visitors who were criticised for not being discerning enough because: Without training, and often without adequate preparation regarding the aims and purposes of the society they served, these good-hearted, somewhat sentimental workers all too often were taken in by apparent distress that they tended to give relief as a matter of course ( Young and Ashton, 1956 , p. 93).…”