George Whitefield: “The Great Duty of Family- Religion”

“The Great Duty of Family- Religion” was a sermon preached by the British clergyman George Whitefield at various times and in various locations in the 1730s before it was published in a collection of his sermons in 1738. The purpose of “The Great Duty of Family- Religion” is simple: to persuade the heads of households to lead their families in communal acts of worship, including Bible reading, prayer, and the use of the catechism (religious instruction). Whitefield preaches on the biblical text from the book of Joshua, chapter 24, verse 15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Whitefield presents Joshua, the hero of the biblical conquest of Canaan, as a model for those in authority and particularly for heads of families. He laments the decline of “family- religion”— rendered in some printings as “family religion”— in his own day, when, as Whitefield proclaims, even those who regard themselves as good Christians restrict their group prayers to church. Whitefield adds other biblical figure such as Abraham, Job, and Cornelius, a Roman centurion who engaged with Jesus, as role models for contemporary governors of families, and he suggests that the practice of family religion not only supports the spiritual growth of household subordinates but is vital in saving the soul of the head of the household as well.