"But it is a mistake to imagine that Evangelicalism is a form of religious individualism. The Evangelicals certainly insisted on the vital significance of the relation of the individual to God, and each maintained his own rugged independence of all others. But true Evangelical religion always tends to intense and intimate fellowships; and one of the characteristic manifestations is the formation of societies.

The most famous of all these came to be known as the Clapham sect. By far the most famous of the group was William Wilberforce the nightingale of the House of Commons... But others were almost equally distinguished. Sir John Shore, Lord Teignmouth had been governor-general of India...Henry Thornton was a wealthy banker. These men lived for many years in a close association and amity to which there is no exact parallel in English Church history. The central interest of their lives was the practice of the Christian faith. Their watchwords were diligence, simplicity, and generosity. Henry Thornton regularly gave away 2/3rds of his income, and in the midst of his busy practical life found time to spend three hours a day in prayer.

The Christian life as they understood it was a simple, cheerful, vigorous, manly affair, entirely free from gloom or introspection. When the last of them was dead, the younger Stephen wrote, 'Oh, where are the people, who are at once really religious and really cultivated in heart and understanding - the people with whom we could associate as our fathers used to associate with each other? No 'Clapham Sect' nowadays.'" - Stephen Neill, Anglicanism