Famous 18th Century Spiritual & Religious Leaders

John Wesley was an English cleric, evangelist, and theologian. He is best remembered for leading a revival movement called Methodism within the Church of England. He is credited with founding societies that eventually became the dominant form of the Methodist movement, which remains relevant today. He continues to be the main theological influence on Methodists all over the world.

Jonathan Edwards was an American philosopher, revivalist preacher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian. Considered one of America's most prominent and influential philosophical theologians, Jonathan Edwards played a major role in shaping the Evangelical Revival of the 1730s and 1740s. His theological work is credited with paving the way for a new school of theology called the New England theology.

Spanish priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is remembered as the father of Mexican independence. During the 1808 French invasion of Spain, the Mexicans demanded independence from Spanish rule. Hidalgo’s subsequent call for revolt against the Spanish is remembered as the Cry of Dolores. He was executed by a firing squad.

Sold as a slave in childhood, Denmark Vesey adopted the surname of his master. He later purchased his freedom with the money he had won in a lottery. Earning a living as a carpenter, he simultaneously launched a slave rebellion and planned a coup but was eventually hanged to death.

Louise Marie Therese was a French nun who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. She has been mentioned in many different sources, some dubiously claiming that she was the daughter of the Queen of France, Maria Theresa of Spain. She was a black woman and a Benedictine nun in the abbey of Moret-sur-Loing. 

John Witherspoon was a Scottish American slaveholder, Presbyterian minister, and Founding Father of the United States. A signatory to the Declaration of Independence, Witherspoon also signed the Articles of Confederation. He also played a crucial role in shaping public policy in the United States of America.

John Baptist de La Salle, also known as La Salle, is remembered as the founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, or the de La Salle Brothers. Apart from setting up charitable boarding schools, he also trained teachers. He is revered as the patron saint of school teachers and educators.

Swaminarayan, also known as Sahajanand Swami, was an Indian yogi and ascetic. He is credited to have revived several central Hindu practices of dharma, ahimsa, and brahmacharya. He was initiated into the tradition of Uddhav Sampradaya by his guru and later became the leader of the tradition. He also undertook reforms for women and the poor. 

Swiss Elder Jakob Ammann gave rise to what is now known as the Amish branch of Anabaptism. While he had initially joined the Anabaptist movement, Ammann, a hard-liner, later branched out because of his belief in the strict doctrines of Anabaptism, such as social avoidance.

Pope Benedict XIII served as the ruler of the Papal States and head of the Catholic Church from 1724 to 1730. A man who was not interested in worldly matters, Benedict XIII chose to maintain a monastic lifestyle. He abolished the lottery in the Papal States and built several hospitals. He is also credited with founding the University of Camerino.

Ann Lee is remembered as the founder of the Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers, for their ritual of shaking during worshipping. Born to a blacksmith in England, she initially worked at a textile mill and later ushered her movement into the U.S.

Jacob Frank was a Polish-Jewish religious leader. He is credited with creating Frankism, a new denomination of Judaism. Jacob Frank is also remembered for his claims; he convinced his followers that he was the reincarnation of the biblical patriarch Jacob and the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi.

Nachman of Breslov was a Polish Rabbi best remembered as the founder of the famous Breslov Hasidic movement. He managed to revive the Hasidic movement by merging in-depth Torah scholarship with the esoteric secrets of Judaism. Nachman of Breslov attracted thousands of followers and his influence continues even today through several Hasidic movements like Breslov Hasidism.

Tenskwatawa was a Native American political and religious leader. Remembered for changing his ways after a near-death experience, Tenskwatawa led a purification movement that condemned the consumption of alcohol and promoted unity among Native Americans. He became known as the Prophet among his ethnic group and accumulated several followers.

Trained in Islamic education by his father, who established the Madrasah-i Rahimiyah, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi had memorized the Qur'an by age 7. He grew up to be a prominent Islamic theologian who modernized Islam with ideas such as taṭbīq and the practice of ijtihad. Asrār al-dīn remains his best-known work.

Born into a wealthy Maryland family and educated in France and Belgium, John Carroll is remembered as the first American Roman Catholic bishop and the first archbishop of Baltimore. He also established Georgetown University. Though he owned more than 100 slaves, he advocated for humane treatment of slaves.

Born into one of the noblest Austrian families, Nikolaus Zinzendorf devoted his life to the welfare of the poor. Recognized as a distinguished leader of the Moravian church and a reformer of the Pietist movement, he created a worldwide missionary network that he hoped would sustain an ecumenical Protestant movement.

Catholic nun Catherine McAuley is best remembered as the founder of the Religious Sisters of Mercy. Orphaned as a child, she was raised by Protestant foster parents and later built The House of Mercy, catering to orphans and homeless women, with her inheritance. Her congregation focuses on education of the poor.

Joseph Bates was an American revivalist minister and seaman. He is credited with co-founding and developing Sabbatarian Adventism, which later paved the way for the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. An ardent advocate of temperance, Bates had given up alcohol, tea, tobacco, coffee, and meat by 1844. His health principles later influenced Seventh-day Adventists in the 1860s.  

John Abeel III, better known as Cornplanter, was a Dutch-Seneca war chief. He played an important role in the American Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War, serving as a chief warrior. He also played a major role during the post-revolutionary war years, serving as a negotiator between the Seneca and the new Americans.

Ganioda'yo, better known as Handsome Lake, was a Seneca religious leader. A leader and prophet, Handsome Lake played an important role in revitalizing traditional religion among the People of the Longhouse. His teachings aimed at popularizing the traditional religious beliefs of his people, which had been marred by colonization. His teachings were later published and are practiced even today.

Alexander Campbell was a Scots-Irish immigrant who went on to become an ordained minister in America. He then joined forces with his father and led a reform effort, which came to be known as the Restoration Movement. Also referred to as the Stone-Campbell Movement, it helped develop non-denominational Christian churches. 

John Woolman was an American tailor, merchant, abolitionist, journalist, and Quaker preacher. He is best remembered for preaching Quaker beliefs after traveling through the American frontier. He condemned slavery, cruelty to animals, conscription, and economic injustices. He also published several essays against slavery. His journal, which he carried throughout his life, was published posthumously as The Journal of John Woolman.

Henri Grégoire, or Abbé Grégoire, was not just a Catholic priest but also a revolutionary. He first gained prominence with his Essay on the Regeneration of the Jews. A radical Jacobin, he was the first priest of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and also presided over the National Convention.

Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon was an English religious leader. She played an important role in the Methodist movement in Wales and England and in the Christian revivalism of the 18th century. She is credited with establishing an evangelical branch in Sierra Leone and England, which is now referred to as the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion.

Eleazar Wheelock was an 18th-century Congregational minister, orator, and educator in Lebanon. He was the founder of the Moor's Charity School, which he started to educate Native Americans. Later on, he founded Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, with the primary motive of educating the sons of American colonists. He was a long-term slave owner.

An outstanding scholar and a prolific writer, Jacob Israel Emden was a leading German Rabbi, mostly remembered for his fierce opposition to the Shabbatean movement and his bitter dispute with Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschütz. Also interested in secular works, he had 31 works to his credit, five of which were published posthumously.